FIFA are set to hold a 32-team Club World Cup in the summer of 2025 to take place in the United States but are facing opposition from leagues around the world and player unions
The Premier League are among a number of leagues and player unions to threaten FIFA with legal action over the 2025 Club World Cup.
The intercontinental tournament is set to take on a new format next summer and is scheduled to be played between June 15 and July 13. In a letter addressed to FIFA president Gianni Infantino, it has been suggested the football calendar has moved to 'beyond saturation' and the 32-team tournament will contribute to pushing players 'beyond their limits' and create economic harm to domestic competition.
The World Leagues Association and world players' union FIFPRO, who count the Premier League and the PFA among their members, call on the FIFA council to reschedule the Club World Cup and to reopen discussions on the international calendar. The alternative would appear to be legal action.
"Should FIFA refuse to formally commit to resolving the issues, as set out above, at its upcoming council, we shall be compelled to advise our members on the options available to them, both individually and collectively, to proactively safeguard their interests," the letter read
"These options include legal action against FIFA, on which we have now commissioned external expert advice."
The groups were keen to emphasise that they had felt ignored by football's world governing body. Simply they want to see change and believe the calendar has went a step to far.
"Over a significant period, FIFA has ignored repeated attempts by leagues and unions to engage on this issue," the letter added.
"Leagues and players cannot simply be expected to 'adapt' to FIFA's decisions, which are driven by FIFA's business strategy. We have reached the point where this situation must immediately be addressed both from a procedural and substantive perspective.
"The World Leagues Association and FIFPRO, as social partners at a global level, stress that, had FIFA followed a transparent, objective, and non-discriminatory process in adopting its calendar decisions, the current situation and subsequent requests would not have arisen."
Premier League sides Manchester City and Chelsea have qualified for the tournament set to be hosted in the United States, after recent Champions League success. They will be joined by Real Madrid, PSG, Inter Milan, Porto, Benfica, Borussia Dortmund, Juventus, Atletico Madrid and Red Bull Salzburg as Europe's entrants to the competition.
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