Manchester City midfielder and captain of the national team of Belgium Kevin De Bruyne expressed his concerns about the continuous rise of congestion in the football calendar, and how financial interests from both FIFA and UEFA seem to always be above players’ health.
Speaking ahead of the Nations League match between his native Belgium and Israel, he mentioned that competitions are fast becoming overwhelming for players.
With the new formats of 36 teams apiece coming in for all three European club competitions and a 32-team Club World Cup scheduled to take place in June of 2025, De Bruyne called out the consequence on players’ health and performances. “We’ll only have three weeks between the Club World Cup final and the start of the Premier League,” he said. “It means we’ll have to prepare for another 80 matches in just three weeks.”
FIFPRO, the union of footballers, recently filed a complaint with EU regulators, underlining how some players receive as few as 12% of the year for rest. De Bruyne shared the same sentiment: “The problem is that UEFA and FIFA keep adding games, but no solutions are found. Money talks louder than players’ voices.”
Despite a CIES report that claimed there had been no significant rise in player workload since the 2000s, the growing number of fixtures remains the most contentious issue for players and unions alike.
