Club World Cup dismissed as a Fifa ‘fiction’ by head of players’ union | Club World Cup 2025

The president of FifPro described the club World Cup as a “fiction” and compared Gianni Infantino to the Roman Emperor Nero, while the dispute between the union of the players and the FIFA continued to degenerate.

Sergio Marchi joined the ranks of those who criticize the widening tournament of Infantino, saying that a “lack of protection” for the players had left the World Cup club equivalent to “bread and circuses”.

It is understood that FifPro was not invited to a meeting concerning the well-being of the players detained by Infantino in New York on the eve of the final, won 3-0 by Chelsea against Paris Saint-Germain.

Marchi said that the Club World Cup was not without her strength because she had “generated enthusiasm among many fans and allowed some of the main figures in the world to see in a single tournament”, but he said that it did not represent football well.

“FifPro cannot fail to emphasize, with absolute clarity, that this competition hides a dangerous disconnection with the real reality experienced by most world footballers,” he said. “What was presented as a world celebration of football was nothing more than a fiction created by FIFA, promoted by its president, without dialogue, sensitivity and respect for those who support the game with their daily efforts.

“A grandiloquent staging inevitably recalling the” bread and circuses “of Nero Rome, the entertainment for the masses while being behind the scenes of inequality, precariousness and lack of protection for real protagonists approved.”

These “real protagonists” are the players, including those of Chelsea and PSG who will start their new seasons of League five weeks after the final.

Last month, FIFPro urged FIFA to give players a four -week rest between the seasons. However, this request was not taken care of, the meeting on Saturday ending with an agreement that three weeks of rest would be sufficient. “There is a consensus according to which there must be at least 72 hours of rest between the matches, and that the players should have a period of rest / vacation of at least 21 days at the end of each season,” said FIFA.

FifPro is part of a group of football organizations, including the Premier League, pursuing legal proceedings against FIFA for an alleged lack of consultation concerning the Club World Cup and changes in the international match calendar.

Fifathe Global Organ Organ declared that it was “fully in our rights to define the parameters of our competitions while respecting the regulatory framework in place”, and the prospect of a legal row was described by Infantino as “futile”.

FIFA said there was an agreement at the meeting this weekend that the calendar had to “find the right balance between national football and club football, on the one hand and between national, continental and global club competitions on the other”. The club World Cup is the only club world competition. FIFA has been approached to comment.