Berliner Tageszeitung - Football overload leaves players near 'breaking point', warns Tebas

The Spaniard told a performance and health summit in London, co-hosted by global players' union FIFPRO, it is vital that governing bodies such as FIFA and UEFA take firm action.

He highlighted the expanded Club World Cup, first held in 2025, and the inaugural 48-team World Cup, staged in North America this year, as events that added to an already heavy workload.

"Some players can still cope more or less, but ultimately there's a breaking point that's unstoppable," Tebas said on Tuesday.

"If we don't stop, and in my view, if we don't put it into reverse, the overall system is going to be much worse, because it's impossible.

"Now they've announced a World Cup with more national teams, they've announced a Club World Cup with more clubs, more summers spent playing. So instead of lowering the load, we're raising it.

"If we don't tackle this, football will suffer. If the international football network doesn't take part -- if some don't want to -- then everything that's being said is just a comfortable talking shop."

Tebas said that governing bodies must do more than just consult with stakeholders.

"I've experienced consultation," he added. "They receive you, they listen to you, you complain, and then they do whatever they want. That model has to change."

- Injury withdrawals -

Maheta Molango, CEO of the Professional Footballers' Association, which represents players across England's professional leagues, told reporters that recent withdrawals during the international window underlined the depth of the problem.

Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice were among five players who pulled out of the England squad for Nations League fixtures in September and October.

"When we in England see five players who need to withdraw from a call-up, which let's be honest is the single most proud moment that you have as a player to be called up for the national team, then you just ask yourself what's wrong about the industry," he said.

Molango said that Chelsea forward Palmer was a "victim of the calendar" after playing in multiple international tournaments in recent years, though he was not selected for the 2026 World Cup.

"That's something that needs to absolutely trigger the alarm bell," he said.

"For those who think that it's only a matter in England, then look at Kai Havertz, look at Brian Brobbey, look at Kylian Mbappe (all of whom suffered injuries in the past week), and you ask yourself, is it really the football that we want?"

Players' unions and leagues filed a complaint to the European Commission over FIFA's imposition of an international match calendar in 2024.

"We decided to file a claim against FIFA," said Molango, a former professional player. "It was not because we have a personal issue with FIFA. It's because we understood that they are the parents of football.

"They are the ones who have the ability to apply standards across the board, as in the summer break, at league level, at federation level, at confederation level."

D. Fjodorow--BTZ