Players' union urges FIFA to protect stars from injuries, burnout

MIAMI (AP) — Days before the start of the Club World Cup, soccer chiefs are facing renewed calls to safeguard players over growing fears of injuries and burnout.

The sport's global players union, FIFPRO, said Thursday there should be an immediate implementation of guaranteed four-week breaks for players during the offseason, as well as time off mid-season.

"If we can all agree that health comes first, then we should take steps to implement these safeguards," said Prof. Dr. Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO Medical Director.

FIFPRO has been critical of the extra workload placed on players as a result of tournaments like the Club World Cup, which kicks off in Miami on Saturday.

The newly-expanded tournament involving 32 of the world's best teams has faced pushback since FIFA announced it would be added to an already saturated calendar.

The month-long tournament will be played every four years, sandwiched in between the men's World Cup, European Championship and Copa America.

It is going ahead against the backdrop of legal challenges in Europe, strike threats and repeated concerns over players' mental and physical welfare due to the increased number of games.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino this week said the competition was "writing history."

"For the first time in history, the 32 best clubs in the world will compete in a tournament to determine finally who is the best club in the world," he said.

But many players at the Club World Cup have entered the tournament on the back of a full regular season.

Players such as Paris Saint-Germain's Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha have headed to the Club World Cup just two weeks after winning the Champions League final, having also competed in the UEFA Nations League in between.

The tournament ends July 13. That is likely to pose a problem for teams like Manchester City or Chelsea if they play in the latter stages, with the Premier League season kicking off on August 16 and leaving little time to rest before beginning the preseason preparations.

FIFPRO said it carried out scientific study involving 70 medical and performance experts to come up with “12 consensus-based” safeguards to protect players from from calendar congestion and excessive workload.

It said international soccer lacked “standardized frameworks or regulations.”

Among the safeguards it is calling for, FIFPRO wants two weeks in the offseason to be “completely commitment free.”

It wants mid-season breaks to be mandatory. Many European leagues have a winter break, but the Premier League does not. It also wants a minimum four-week retraining period before players return to action after the offseason break.

Other safeguards include protection for academy players under the age of 18 and “travel fatigue management” to schedule rest periods after long-haul flights.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer