The footballers are threatening to strike due to the overloaded calendar

The suffocatingly heavy calendar has pushed footballers to their limits and they have already warned FIFA that they are ready to go on strike, as the chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) said.

Macheta Molango, who has been calling for changes since February, believes the players have reached a tipping point. He says football’s packed schedule puts players’ health at risk and lowers the quality of the sport.

“I can tell you a situation that happened 10 days ago, where I walked into the dressing room of a directly affected team and said: “I’m happy to be here and bark a little, but ultimately it’s up to you. How far do you want us to go?”. Some of them said: “No way, let’s go on strike.” Some said, “What’s the point? Yes, I’m a millionaire, but I don’t even have time to spend the money.”“, he emphasized to the BBC.

“It wasn’t even the association that said it, it was Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola. We have reached a point where we cannot rule out any actionMolango said.

The global players’ union FIFPRO, along with the PFA and the World Leagues Association (WLA), have threatened to take legal action if FIFA continues in this direction.

In a letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino and general secretary Matias Grafström, they expressed their concerns about expanding the new Club World Cup to 32 teams.

In response, FIFA denied claims that it had made unilateral decisions to favor its events on the international calendar while maintaining that there is no thought of rescheduling the tournament.

“Some of the changes in England with the domestic calendar have been forced after what FIFA and UEFA have done. What happened is further confirmation that something needs to be doneMolango said.

“We will always try to exhaust all diplomatic avenues, we have sent a letter, we have received a response, but unfortunately time is against us. Sometimes between adults, even though we try hard to find solutions, you need a third party to decide, maybe an arbitrator or a court“, he said.