October 15 – Players have never been closer to going on strike amid growing discontent over an increasingly congested calendar, according to the head of their global union FIFPRO.
In the wake of the landmark legal complaint taken by FIFPRO Europe, the European Leagues association and Spain’s LaLiga against FIFA, David Terrier told Reuters: “Obviously as a union leader I should be dreaming of a strike because it gives you more power but I’m very attached to the concept of social dialogue.”
“It would be a serious failure to get to that extreme but this extreme is getting closer every day. The European Union must remind everyone and tell them they have to go through social dialogue.”
“Are we going to go all the way (to a strike)? The players are ready and what they cannot stand is that FIFA does not hear or does not respect them.”
“More and more players are telling us they want to stage a strike,” he added, taking specific aim at the 32-team Club World Cup, to be hosted by the U.S. across 12 venues from June 15-July 13, 2025.
Terrier likened the event to the European Super League concept that collapsed in 2021 under pressure from fans.
“(The Club World Cup) is a devious way to build (a Super League) and FIFA will do everything to stick with their idea for credibility reasons. They should first and foremost take care of the nations, not the clubs,” Terrier said. “They will finance it with their reserve revenues, but those should go to the clubs who need it.”
Speaking at the European Club Association (ECA) general meeting last week both UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and ECA chair Nasser Al-Khelaifi argued against a strike though recognised that the international calendar is at full capacity.
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