–
Representatives of Major League Baseball and the Professional Players Association gathered together today and expressed their opposition to holding the Club World Cup under the new system.
According to The Sun newspaper, the opposition campaign is led by English Premier League president Richard Masters, Professional Players’ Association president Mahita Molango and Spanish league president Javier Tebas.
They promised to take legal action unless the 32-nation tournament scheduled to be held in the United States next year is rescheduled.
FIFA officials have dismissed previous concerns that players are vulnerable to fatigue, but Mulango told The Sun: “Football is killing its own product. The people who run the game need to listen.”
He added: “If they don’t do that, we as a union have a responsibility to take the necessary action against the players and the legal route is the next step.”
He went on to add: “The governing body had every opportunity to engage meaningfully with us on this issue, but failed to do so. The current workload for players is unsustainable and people know the number of matches on the program is too high for them. It doesn’t suit me.”
The International Players’ Association (FIFPro) believes the schedule will force clubs to force their star players to play without giving them the minimum three-week break stipulated in all professional contracts.
