New Premier League legal action THREATENS football as we know it

The Premier League has joined other European leagues in taking legal action against FIFA, accusing the organisation of "abusing its dominant position" relating to the overcrowded football calendar.

The European branch of global union FIFPRO, which represents professional footballers including those from Liverpool, are also backing the complaint. It is the latest conflict unfolding for FIFA who has faced pressure over the past year due to rulings concerning the European Super League, player agent regulations, and, more recently, the global transfer market.

The collective body known as the European Leagues, represents 31 members including the Premier League, EFL, and Scottish Premiership. It has stated that legal action is now the "only responsible step" in response to claims that FIFA is ignoring player welfare and the integrity of competitions. FIFA denies these allegations.

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What will happen to football?

FIFA has already proposed a number of changes to various competitions. It is set to launch a 32-team Club World Cup — featuring 12 European clubs — in the United States next June and July, while the 2026 World Cup, also set to take place in North America, will expand to 48 teams instead of 32 and will be extended by an extra week.

The Club World Club in particular follows an already congested season, especially with the new UEFA Champions League and Europa League formats, with UEFA not forming part of this complaint according to AP news.

This summer, FIFPRO' released its Player Workload Monitoring Report which revealed that more than half of the 1,500 players tracked last season were subjected to an “excessive workload”, with nearly a third involved in over 55 games during the 2023/24 campaign, which would undoubtedly be increased this year.

If the complaint against FIFA is successful, it could see a big cutback on the number of international games as well as threatening the new Club World Cup.

“The complainants are not seeking financial compensation from FIFA, but instead a fair and inclusive decision-making procedure,” their lawyer Mark English said, adding that they asked to make a “cease and desist” decision on FIFA breaking European competition law.

Fixture congestion has been a hot topic already this season. Alisson Becker spoke out to the media in a Champions League press conference about how he feels UEFA and the sport's governing bodies fail to sufficiently consider the players in negotiations over new competitions.

Days later, Rodri followed suit alongside teammate Manuel Akanji and Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, with claims that the players may consider going on strike in protest of the number of games the senior European men's teams are playing.

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