October 29 – Stung by the recent legal complaint to the European Commission by top leagues and player unions, FIFA is setting up a Task Force led by its head of global football development Arsene Wenger in an attempt to appease mounting scrutiny over player burnout.
FIFA is under increasing pressure to pay more attention to stakeholders worried about an expanding calendar amid concerns that packed schedules are taking a heavy physical and mental toll on elite players, some of whom have even threatened going on strike if FIFA doesn’t listen.
Top of that expansion list is Gianni Infantino’s pet project of next summer’s 32-team Club World Cup in the United States which has drawn widespread criticism.
As a result, FIFA announced Monday a Wenger-led task force “will convene in the coming weeks” and include delegates from FIFPRO, clubs and domestic leagues, plus national federations. The same groups previously had seats on a committee of stakeholders that FIFA shut down in 2021.
The new panel’s scope will include “operational, medical, regulatory and legal perspectives,” FIFA said in aa statement, without specifying a timetable.
“The task force is due to make recommendations informed by the latest scientific research into the topic of players’ physical and mental well-being.”
Fifpro, Spain’s La Liga and the European Leagues organisation filed a joint complaint to European Union anti-trust regulators earlier this month, accusing FIFA of “calendar abuse”.
“The objective of the task force is to examine how suitable and effective safeguards for players can be implemented, also taking into account practical considerations from operational, medical, regulatory and legal perspectives,” FIFA added.
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