New Delhi: Football calendar has seen a surge in activities and there are increasing complaints for the increased amount of workload. There’s no doubt that the amount of rest and recovery required at the top level of football is decreasing each season and the first evidence is the obvious increase in the number of injuries players are suffering globally.
A report by Belgian University Katholieke Universiteit Leuveb, authorised by global football players’ union FIFPRO is confirming this, which in turn means that the safety levels are violating legal frameworks. The report will be submitted as evidence to European anti-trust regulators for the joint complaint against FIFA by FIFPRO Europe, La Liga and European Leagues.
Recently, the big leagues have blamed the football body for expanding the football calendar without any empathy for players’ well-being. The accusations go on to say that FIFA’s power abuse includes inflating the FIFA Club World Cup next year. The complaint filed in Brussels back on October 14th noted that FIFA was imposing decisions upon the international calendar, showing its abuse of power and breaking European Union law.
A new report confirms that European and international Occupational Safety and Health standards apply to professional football.
Players, recognised as workers, are entitled to the same protections as others, regardless of income or the specificities of the sport.
— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) November 20, 2024
What research concludes on the inflated football calendar?
The method for the research involved evaluating the job demands and resources in the professional game involving pressure of playing in a high-risk work enviroment. Based on this the report examined the legal boundations for health and safety standards.
The Director of Institute for labour Law at KU Leuven, Frank Hendrickx noted that the report re-affirms the Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) standards as noted by European and international frameworks are “applicable for the professional football industry” as well. Hendrickx further observed that footballers are considered workers under European and international labour law.
This means that footballers are qualified for the same working environment as any other worker. Though football needs a much more customised approach, the salary of a worker or the nature of their work doesn’t exclude them from OSH standards.
FIFPRO further argues that the demands of an increase in the number of matches, international travel, sleep disruptions and demands of the tournaments are not considered during the planning of competition layouts. The Club World Cup is currently the biggest point of acrimony between the two parties.
The format now has increased from seven clubs to 32 and gives little time for the players between seasons and also could result in delaying the pre-season tours that are staged to increase the fanbase globally. The research will also be serving as evidence in a separate legal case that FIFA faces filed by England’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), Frances’s Union Nationale des Footballeurs Professionnels (UNFP) and Italy’s Associazione Italiana Calciatori (AIC).
A recent study confirms that the increased workload on footballers is hazardous to overall safety standards. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
