Is the Club Super World Cup in danger? FIFA, sued by the players’ union FIFPro :: Olé

The FIFAchaired by Gianni Infantino, faces a lawsuit brought by FIFPRO and European unions before the Brussels Commercial Court and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) due to the organization of the Club World Cup 2025. This tournament, scheduled for mid-2025 in the United States, and which will feature 32 of the best teams in the world, is in a state of uncertainty.

The official statement from FIFPRO, the international federation of professional footballers, highlights four key points in its demand. First of all, It is argued that the proposed dates for the tournament violate the necessary rest times for the players, citing articles from the Charter of Rights of the European Union. Secondly, the unilateral imposition of these decisions by FIFA is criticized, which violates the players’ right to negotiate with the organization.

The third point of the lawsuit addresses the violation of the right to healthy working conditions, again protected by the Charter of Rights of the European Union. FIFPRO considers that the additional workload of the 2025 Club World Cup represents an attack on the health of footballerss, benefiting only the Zurich headquarters. The prestigious Dupont-Hissel law firm has taken on the case on behalf of FIFPRO.

Finally, FIFPRO, in its fourth argument, points out that FIFA’s unilateral decisions regarding the International Match Calendar and The Club World Cup also negatively impacts the development, performance and interests of the main European leagues.. The lack of negotiation with these leagues is perceived as an attack on their interests.

In May, FIFPRO had published a report that pointed out the symptoms of burnout among footballers due to lack of rest and excessive matches. Half of the 1,283 players surveyed reported suffering injuries from excessive playing, and 54% admitted to playing without being fully recovered.. Furthermore, 82% of coaches confessed to fielding unrecovered players due to pressure to obtain results.

FIFPRO’s legal team, led by Jean-Louis Dupont, who participated in the landmark 1995 Bosman ruling, argues that the current football calendar is “overloaded” and “unviable.” For your part The president of FIFPRO in Europe, David Terrier, has been clear: “FIFA does not listen. Its decisions harm the ecosystem. It is a failure of governance”. The lawsuit seeks not only to confront the calendar problem, but also to establish a precedent so that decisions on it are negotiated and not unilaterally imposed.

If FIFA loses this lawsuit, a historical precedent could be opened. A victory for the unions would mean that FIFA would lose exclusive control over the calendar and its dates., giving more power to leagues like the Premier League and La Liga Española. This ruling could redefine the balance of power in global football governance.

The first edition of the tournament will take place from June 15 to July 13, 2025. These dates have been established to ensure that the tournament schedule is harmoniously aligned with the international match calendar, allowing the necessary time between the final of the tournaments and the start of the following season in many of the leagues worldwide.

The format of the tournament will be similar to that of the World Cups, until Qatar 2022. The 32 participating teams will be distributed into eight groups of four, where each team will face the other three in single matches. The top two teams in each group will advance to the round of 16. From this stage, the 16 best teams will face each other in direct elimination matches, also known as “single match”, until reaching the grand final of the tournament.

“Clubs play a fundamental role in world football, and FIFA Club World Cup 2025 will be a major milestone to provide clubs from all confederations with a suitable stage to shine at the highest level of the game,” said FIFA President Gianni Infantino.