Footballers are ready to "take a strong stance" – including legal action – over the demands of congested fixture lists, according to the players union.
The Professional Footballers’ Association’s comments come after FIFA’s announcement of the Club World Cup for summer 2025 and the expansion of the Champions League group stage by two games per team.
Analysis suggests male footballers could be expected to play 86 matches from next season, an unprecedented level of demand. FIFA are yet to grant a global union demand that players are guaranteed a 28-day break during the off-season, a request made near-impossible by the Club World Cup.
PFA chief executive Maheta Molango told Sky News: "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.
"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.
"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."
The PFA is in the early stages of establishing the obligation for players to be available for certain competitions and how these are enforced under the current system.
Earlier this year managers such as Vincent Kompany, Jürgen Klopp, Erik ten Hag and Pep Guardiola raised their concerns about fixture congestion, with the latter saying: "We treat the players in not a good way. We are so irresponsible in how we treat the players."
Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has also complained to FIFA about the Club World Cup, but FIFA maintain that the competition is about growing the game globally, and point to the competition allowing at least three days' rest between games as a step to protect player welfare.
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