The clubs of the Premier League They have expressed their unanimous rejection of FIFA’s proposals to celebrate the World Cup on a biennial basis, as well as the international dates from 2024.
The 20 top-flight teams in England met in London on Thursday to address controversial calendar plans drawn up by FIFA.
The Premier has opposed the measure on grounds of “player well-being, fan experience, preseason preparations and the quality of the competition.”
The executive director of the competition, Richard Masters, stated that “the Premier League is committed to preventing any radical changes to FIFA’s international match schedule post-2024 that would negatively affect the well-being of players and threaten the competitiveness, schedule, structures and traditions of national football. “.
“We are open to reforms and new ideas, but they must improve the complementary balance between national and international football to improve at all levels. This process must also involve significant agreements with the leagues (…) We will continue to work with groups of fans, players, national and international stakeholders to find solutions that are best for the long-term future of football, “he added Masters.
The Premier League’s opposition to FIFA’s plans had previously been voiced through the European leagues., of which the highest English category is a member. Thus, the Premier joins UEFA and the European Club Association in rejecting the biennial World Cup.
According to proposals for the men’s calendar developed by a technical advisory group under the leadership of Arsene Wenger, a major tournament would take place each summer and qualifying matches would be shortened and condensed into one or at most two international breaks, rather than the current five.
The Premier will resume eight days after the 2022 World Cup
Secondly, The Premier League also decided on the calendar for the next season and the competition will resume only eight days after the 2022 World Cup final.. In this way, any Premier player who plays in next year’s World Cup final will have just over a week to recover before action resumes in England.
With Qatar 2022 scheduled in the middle of the European soccer calendar, the biggest competitions are forced to take a hiatus to accommodate the tournament. The Qatar World Cup will begin on November 21, 2022 and will run until December 18, which is the scheduled date for the final.
As such, the 2022-23 Premier League season will start one week earlier than usual on August 6 and matches will continue until November 13, giving some international teams just eight days with their rosters before the tournament begins.
The Premier League will resume on Boxing Day, eight days after the World Cup final in Losail, meaning any England-based player involved will have a quick change before returning to domestic competition.