In a bid to reduce the workload of footballers, the world players’ union Fifpro is asking for a mandatory mid-season break that will last between 10-14 days to help players cope with the demands of a revised calendar.
Players are resuming to actions after a three-month break caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. There have been restarts of the present campaigns in England, Spain and Italy and some other leagues.
There won’t be French 1 Ligue as the LFP had already declared Paris Saint-Germaine as the champions due to the government order that there won’t be any sporting activity in the country till September.
With all league actions due to finish at the end of July, Uefa’s Champions League and Europa League tournaments will also restart in August.
The pandemic has forced a shift in the calendar as clubs might cancel all their preseason plans. According to reports, the Spanish La Liga intends to begin its 2020-21 season on 12 September. Other leagues’ bodies may follow this for commercial purposes.
If that is going to be the case, there will be just a gap of three weeks between the Champions League final on 23 August and domestic seasons.
During the three week gap, there will also be two international matches as part of the Fifa calendar. The next campaign has to be completed, as the European Championship will hold from June to July, after being postponed by a year due to the pandemic.
Clubs in Europe may not play EFL club next season
With works yet to be done on the domestic calendar in England, there have been suggestions that Premier League clubs participating in European competition may not enter the EFL Cup.
While stating that there has been no consultation with players’ representatives about the schedules they will be facing, the Fifpro apart fro the winter break wants a minimum three-week break between seasons for players, followed by a retraining period.
The body noted that a mandatory mid-season break of between 10 and 14 days is more important than ever during a highly-congested match schedule that players will have to face for the next two to three years.
“In addition, the minimum contractually-agreed holiday periods need to be respected. In most countries, this is at least three weeks, followed by a retraining period to avoid injuries.
“It is not acceptable that altering competition calendars leads to pressure to breach these rights,” Fifpro outlined.
