President of the Confederation of African Football, Patrice Motsepe has joined the growing army of the critics of the expanded FIFA Club World Cup.
It is generally believed by football’s stakeholders that the expanded 2025 Club World Cup has increased the burden on footballers.
A competition that lasted around 10 days and involved a maximum of two matches for the big teams will now span a month and require seven matches for victory.
Moreover, it has put the organisation of CAF’s major tournament into disarray as CAF had to rigorously search for a window to be able to hold its flagship competition, the Africa Cup of Nations in 2025.
As it is, the competition can only hold 13 months after the qualifiers would have merged. Similarly, FIFA’s congested programmes set the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations off balance.
No window has yet emerged for the annual Women’s CAF Champions League. Motsepe told BBC that top-level footballers playing too many games will have a damaging effect on the sport in future.
According to BBC online, in recent weeks, a handful of leading figures in the game have spoken out against the increase in games, with Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri saying players are close to going on strike.
“We don’t want them (the footballers) to play more than they should – it’s not good for football, and it’s not good for the long-term success of the sport,” Motsepe told BBC Sport Africa.
“The commitment from all stakeholders is indeed the players’ health and condition, and the frequency which they have to be on the field is important to us.”
Motsepe is the owner of Mamelodi Sundowns and the South African club provides a good example of the workload faced by leading players.
Should South Africa qualify for the next World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), then Sundowns players – ten of whom were in the squad that finished third at this year’s Afcon – would not have a break until mid-2027.
This is because Fifa’s Club World Cup is in June-July 2025, the following season contains a Nations Cup running from December 2025-January 2026, and the World Cup then takes place in June-July 2026.
In Europe, where the Champions League now has two extra games, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti is considering mid-season holidays for his squad while Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, a team-mate of Egypt star Mohamed Salah, said players are tired of “having more games”.
“Part of what we have to do is to keep talking, keep engaging but also keep listening,” said Motsepe.
“Solutions will be found that are in the interests of all parties.”
