Players ready to take legal action over packed schedules, says PFA’s Molango

Dec 30 (Reuters) – The crammed soccer schedule may force players to take legal action, the Professional Footballers’ Association’s chief executive officer Maheta Molango said as he highlighted growing concerns about player welfare.

Under the new format from the 2024-25 season, the Champions League group stage will expand to 36 teams from 32, playing in a single-league format. Each team will play a minimum of eight matches, all against different opponents.

A host of Premier League managers have been vocal about the busy schedule and its impact on players.

“I feel like we’ve reached a stage where people are ready to take legal action, where people are ready to take tangible action on the pitch to try to resolve it, because it’s a sad state of affairs,” Molango told Sky News.

“I think it’s a defeat for football when the players need to take the justice in their own hands because they don’t feel protected.”

FIFA’s revamped Club World Cup, planned for 2025 and set to feature 32 teams, will be played from June 15 to July 13, while a new Intercontinental Cup will be played annually starting next year.

The dates of the Club World Cup give European teams who qualify little time to rest between the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.

When asked if competition organisers risk killing football, Molango said: “I think that the players are ready now to take a strong stance.

“I do think that the authorities who are supposed to protect the players and protect the games are not doing that. They are generating more competitions, generating more income to the detriment of the players.”

He added that the current calendar makes it “physically, humanly impossible” for the players to perform at their best level.