Leagues threaten FIFA case

FIFA have been threatened with legal action by the World Leagues Association and world players’ union FIFPRO, if they do not reschedule the 2025 Club World Cup.

A letter to FIFA president Gianni Infantino says the sport’s schedule is now “beyond saturation”.

It says calendar changes such as the new 32-team Club World Cup — scheduled forJune and July 2025 — have created “economic harm” to domestic leagues and have pushed players “beyond their limits”.

Calls

It calls on FIFA Council to reschedule the Club World Cup and to reopen discussions on the international calendar up to 2030.

“Should FIFA refuse to commit to resolving the issues, as set out above, at its upcoming council, we shall be compelled to advise our members on the options available to them,” the letter says.

These options include legal action against FIFA. report by Bloomberg suggests MSP Capital, another American investment group, is weighing up whether to re-enter the bidding.

The uncertainty is not helping Dyche as he tries to start planning for next season to get back to, in his words, “a level playing field” and admits this is not a “crack-on moment”.

“I didn’t know at the time but ever since I got here I’ve been trying to manage the situation with the goalposts moving significantly at any given time so I don’t think I’m in new waters for that side of things,” said the boss, who has spoken to Moshiri about matters on the pitch but not over the takeover.

“And that is the challenge at the moment, it is the current shifting sands of this football club.

Base

“I’ve said many times you want to put a base into the club to build from but it’s not quite there yet so we are all open-minded on the recruitment and player contract side, the staff, on what comes next.

“People get this impression that when we made sure we had secured ourselves (in the Premier League) there was that underlying feeling of, ‘crack on now’.

“It’s not as easy as that. We’re not in a ‘crack-on’ moment at the moment. There is lots to do to get back to the base and level playing field in order to move forwards.

“There are situations out of my control but they are in people’s control, certainly at the level of the club that know about more of the details and minutiae and important side of the getting the deal done.

“I just have to stay flexible-minded as to what comes next. Every week is like that here.”

777 Partners have declined to comment on recent developments regarding the takeover and the situation with its other investments.