Page 22 - Soccer360 Issue 104

Manchester City player Erling Haaland (R) holds the 2022/23 UEFA Men’s Player of the Year award next to UEFA’s president Aleksander Ceferin during the UEFA European Club Football Season Kick- Off event
‘ALTHOUGH THERE HAS BEEN LITTLE PUBLIC CONDEMNATION FROM THE PLAYERS, IT ALSO FEELS AS THOUGH THEIR WELFARE HAS NOT REALLY BEEN TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION’
crying out for, and was also a key selling point for those who brought about the European Super League proposals in 2021. It just seems as though UEFA have managed to hear the concerns and criticism and come up with an answer that no one was really demanding.
Although there has been little public condemnation from the players, it also feels as though their welfare has not really been taken into consideration either. FIFA was criticised for - eventually - moving the 2022 World Cup from the middle of the year to December when most of the nations involved were in the middle of their domestic seasons. A season that followed the recommended FIFA calendar, by the way. Although the tournament was seen largely as a success on the pitch, there were endless examples of players then picking up injuries and fatigue which played a major role in many of the title run-ins. With the newly expanded FIFA Club World Cup beginning in the summer of 2025, stars at the top clubs will be asked to play even more games over the next few seasons. Burnout could be a real problem and extra games in a revamped Champions League are not going to help with that. It could be that sacrifices are made to domestic cup competitions in order to cope with the extra demand from continental fixtures, a move that many - particularly supporters and officials of clubs who do not compete in European football - would doubtless resent.
Not many people outside of UEFA seem too thrilled with the new format
DID YOU KNOW?
Bukayo Saka is the first Arsenal player to score and assist in consecutive home games in the UEFA Champions League since Cesc Fàbregas against Sevilla and Slavia Prague in 2007-08.
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NEW FORMAT CHAMPIONS LEAGUE