Last season, the injuries amounted to a cost of an incredible 8.7 billion Norwegian kroner, according to a report.
An increasingly close match schedule for the best footballers in Europe has long been a big talking point. It has gone so far that the players’ association FIFPro, the league organization European Leagues and Spanish La Liga have sent a complaint to the European Commission against Fifa (the International Football Association).
Next summer, an expanded Club World Cup will nevertheless be started in the USA, and for the World Cup 2026 the number of teams will be increased from 32 to 48. Both tournaments take place under the auspices of Fifa.
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– Abolish the Club World Cup
That prompted La Liga president Javier Tebas to fire at Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
– You know that you have not sold the TV rights to the Club WC. You know you haven’t sold any sponsorship rights. Abandon the Club WC. It is not a necessity for the players, the clubs or Fifa. If you use Fifa’s own money to pay for it, you are taking money from the national associations, Tebas said, according to the New York Times.
Now an injury survey for the top five men’s leagues in Europe – England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy – shows that the number of injured players last season increased by four percent compared to the previous season.
During the 2023/24 season, 4,123 player injuries were recorded. The players were involved in 4,232 games, meaning there was almost one injury per game, according to insurer Howden, which carried out the survey.
The clubs’ bill for all the injured players amounted to just under NOK 8.7 billion (€730 million).
The cost was calculated by converting the players’ wages into a daily wage, which was then multiplied by the number of days the player was unavailable due to injury.
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No dialogue
The players who now want to bring Fifa before the EU court believe that the international confederation does not hold any dialogue with the national leagues or the players’ association about the match calendar.
They believe that Fifa is wearing two hats as governing body and organizer of tournaments, and that it is in breach of EU competition legislation.
– We have tried everything, and when we hear rumors (of any change), we have several times asked for a dialogue without getting any answer, said Claus Thomsen, board member of the European Leagues, to the Danish news agency Ritzau.
