Football calendar risks pushing players to ‘breaking point’, says Javier Tebas

La Liga president Javier Tebas has warned that football’s increasingly crowded calendar is taking players towards an “unstoppable” breaking point and urged FIFA and UEFA to take decisive action.

Speaking at a performance and health summit in London, co-hosted by global players’ union FIFPRO, Tebas said the sport’s governing bodies could not continue adding matches and competitions without addressing the injury risks facing players.

He pointed to the expanded Club World Cup, first held in 2025, and the inaugural 48-team World Cup, staged in North America this year, as examples of how the workload has grown.

“Some players can still cope more or less, but ultimately there’s a breaking point that’s unstoppable,” Tebas said on Tuesday.

“If we don’t stop, and in my view, if we don’t put it into reverse, the overall system is going to be much worse, because it’s impossible.

“Now they’ve announced a World Cup with more national teams, they’ve announced a Club World Cup with more clubs, more summers spent playing. So instead of lowering the load, we’re raising it.

“If we don’t tackle this, football will suffer. If the international football network doesn’t take part — if some don’t want to then everything that’s being said is just a comfortable talking shop.”

Tebas also criticised the way football authorities engage with players, leagues and other stakeholders, arguing that consultation alone had not led to meaningful change.

“I’ve experienced consultation,” he said. “They receive you, they listen to you, you complain, and then they do whatever they want. That model has to change.”

Maheta Molango, chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, which represents players across England’s professional leagues, said recent international withdrawals illustrated the scale of the issue.

Cole Palmer, Marcus Rashford and Declan Rice were among five players to withdraw from the England squad for Nations League fixtures in September and October.

“When we in England see five players who need to withdraw from a call-up, which let’s be honest is the single most proud moment that you have as a player to be called up for the national team, then you just ask yourself what’s wrong about the industry,” Molango told reporters.

He described Chelsea forward Palmer as a “victim of the calendar” after his involvement in several international tournaments in recent years, although Palmer was not selected for the 2026 World Cup.

“That’s something that needs to absolutely trigger the alarm bell,” Molango said.

He added that the pressure was not limited to English football, citing Kai Havertz, Brian Brobbey and Kylian Mbappe, who had all suffered injuries in the previous week.

“For those who think that it’s only a matter in England, then look at Kai Havertz, look at Brian Brobbey, look at Kylian Mbappe, and you ask yourself, is it really the football that we want?”

Players’ unions and leagues filed a complaint to the European Commission over FIFA’s imposition of an international match calendar in 2024.

“We decided to file a claim against FIFA,” said Molango, a former professional player. “It was not because we have a personal issue with FIFA. It’s because we understood that they are the parents of football.

“They are the ones who have the ability to apply standards across the board, as in the summer break, at league level, at federation level, at confederation level.”