The likes of Alan Shearer, Clarence Seedorf and Daniel Sturridge insist that football is close to a ‘breaking point’ in terms of player welfare with the current schedule also affecting quality.
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) announced in June that with the support of players’ union FIFPRO, they have joined a legal action against FIFA over the ‘overloaded and unworkable’ football calendar.
Speaking at a Prime Video event in London launching their coverage of the new Champions League format, which will see teams play two more group stage matches, former England striker Shearer said: ‘There’s no doubt that there’s too many games for the top international players to keep on going and going,’
‘It’s so important to keep the quality of football high. When you look at the Euros, the best team won but when you look at the likes of France, Portugal and even England, there wasn’t a great amount of quality,’ Shearer added.
‘There has to be a reason for that. Is it because players are going into a tournament knackered because there’s too many games? There are too many games. I’ve always said that. There has to come a point where it is breaking point and perhaps it’s getting to that now. It’s important that you keep the quality of football because that’s what we all want and love and hopefully we’ll see that in the Champions League,’
Alan Shearer insisted that the current football calendar at the highest level must be reformed
This season's revamped Champions League format will see the total number of matches played in the competition increase from 125 to 189
The PFA have launched legal action against FIFA over what they call an ‘overloaded and unworkable’ schedule
The revamped format will see teams play eight league matches and the total amount of Champions League matches will increase from 125 to 189, with the draw taking place on August 29 and the league phase running from September 17 to January 29 next year.
Last week, Carlo Ancelotti admitted that Real Madrid are considering giving players holidays during the season to cope with fixture congestion and Shearer added that it could be an option. The current club season is scheduled to end on July 13 when the Club World Cup final concludes in America.
‘Fergie (Sir Alex Ferguson) used to do that with his players in January when the FA Cup came around and give some of his players a week or two off to go on holiday so that is up to the managers,’ said Shearer.
But four-time Champions League winner Seedorf stressed that a holiday would not be an efficient solution.
‘The fact that there’s more substitutions is a big help but there’s too many matches,’ said Seedorf. I don’t think holidays would sort it. You need to still train. You need to put gas in for you to perform. If you don’t put gas, you can’t drive the car and if you continue to drive that car, it will break. It’s as simple as that. We need to look at the health element and what happens after the career of athletes. Having the balance and to be able to rest your body and heart is so important because there can be serious consequences if not,’ he added.
The PFA have also threatened strike action, but Shearer believes that is unlikely.
Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti recently revealed he is exploring options to help his team deal with their packed schedule
Four-time Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf insisted a mid-season holiday is not enough to combat the accumulated fatigue
‘I don’t think strikes would work with the general public,’ he said. ‘It’s a very difficult conversation saying that players play too much football. Because people will turn around and say ‘Well I get up at six and I don’t get in until seven, I spend 12-hour shifts in a factory,’
While former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge insisted that the key is to ensure that the passion for football remains with the players.
‘I just hope that the amount they’re playing and the stress they’re under doesn’t change their love for it,’ said Sturridge. ‘For players, it’s important for to understand the situation psychologically because I don’t think it will change dramatically in terms of games. From the players perspective, it’s always difficult after a tournament summer. You have to keep the players healthy and give them time to relax and clear your mind. Look at Jean Philippe Mateta going from the Olympics to starting on the weekend and coming off at half-time. Then you’ve got Phil Foden who had to come off the bench yesterday.’
Prime Video will provide exclusive coverage of the top-pick of Tuesday UEFA Champions League match beginning on Tuesday 20th August with the play-off round and run through the whole tournament, up to and including the semi-finals in May 2025.
The coverage will be presented by Gabby Logan and analysis will be provided by some of the game’s most exciting and knowledgeable pundits including four-time winner of the competition Clarence Seedorf, ex-Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City striker Daniel Sturridge, experienced UEFA Champions League players Josie Henning, Frank Lampard, Gael Clichy, Laura Georges and more. Jon Champion and Alan Shearer will provide live commentary of every top Tuesday match with Gabriel Clarke and Alex Aljoe reporting from inside the stadium.