European Club Association Condemns Fifa Calendar Reforms as Destructive to Clubs

The European Club Association has stated that Fifa’s calendar rev amp would“lead to a direct and destructive impact on the club game”.

World football’s governing body has proposed a men’s World Cup every two years as part of an overhauled international match calendar (IMC).

The ECA said the planned changes were “in direct and unilateral breach of certain legal obligations”.

It also criticised Fifa for a lack of consultation about its reforms.

In an exclusive interview with BBC podcast The Sports Desk, Arsene Wenger - Fifa’s head of global development - said proposals would tackle“chaos” and “congestion” in the game.

The ECA, which represents more than 230 clubs across the continent, said that that “changes are needed” to the IMC to make it “modernised and simpler” but was unhappy with the plans and the way Fifa was going about it.

In a statement, the ECAsaid it had “followed with grave concern and alarm Fifa’s launch of active PR campaigns and much pretence, apparently seeking to railroad through reforms to the IMC, particularly the introduction of a biennial World Cup”.

European football’s governing body Uefa has said the plans created four significant “dangers” for football, including a potential loss in prestige for the World Cup and concerns over player welfare.

It rejected Wenger’s suggestion the new schedule would improve the competitive chances of smaller nations, and said the development of women’s football, with tournaments “deprived of exclusive slots and overshadowed by the proximity of top men’s events”,