This Thursday, the professional footballers’ unions of England (PFA) and France (UNFP) filed a lawsuit against FIFA in the Commercial Court of Brussels, challenging the “unilaterally determined” calendar, in this case of the Club World Cup.
These unions believe that “these decisions violate the rights of players as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, as well as European competition law,” the UNFP said.
With the support of FifPro for Europe, the professional footballers’ union, the English and French unions are asking the Brussels Commercial Court to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union with appropriate arguments in the light of European law.
“Players and unions continue to emphasize that the current calendar is overloaded and impractical,” the UNFP recalled, noting that in early May FifPro and the Leagues Association had already threatened to go to court.
On the union side, FIFA has taken a unilateral position on expanding the Club World Cup from seven to 32 teams, with the first World Cup scheduled for next year, from June 15 to July 13, in the United States.
“The most coveted players are now part of an endless calendar of games and competitions for their clubs and countries, in which the limits are constantly exceeded,” laments Maheta Molango, the chief executive of the English Union.