FIFA to host talks on player welfare with unions, clubs, leagues invited on Arsène Wenger-led panel

ZURICH (AP) — FIFA is ready to host talks led by Arsène Wenger on improving player welfare that could weigh limiting the number of games they play in a congested calendar and mandating off-season breaks.

FIFA said Monday a Wenger-led task force “will convene in the coming weeks” and include delegates from global players’ union FIFPRO, clubs and domestic leagues, plus national federations. Those groups previously had seats on a committee of stakeholders that FIFA shut down in 2021.

The new panel’s scope will include “operational, medical, regulatory and legal perspectives,” FIFA said, without specifying a timetable or path to making decisions.

The consultation will start with FIFA under increasing legal pressure to listen more to stakeholders, including a formal complaint to the European Commission in Brussels this month by union and league officials.

That filing cited European competition law in how FIFA has expanded or added new men’s competitions that increase the workload for elite players that has pushed some to talk of going on strike.

Lille’s Remy Cabella is treated for an injury during the Champions League opening phase soccer match between Atletico Madrid and Lille at the Metropolitano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

“The task force is due to make recommendations informed by the latest scientific research into the topic of players’ physical and mental well-being,” FIFA said in a statement.

FIFA already partners with the World Health Organization including to promote good practice on managing head injuries.

Wenger, the former Arsenal coach, has been FIFA’s head of global soccer development since 2019.