UEFA has announced plans to seek the views of its member associations on the possibility of submitting a proposal to FIFA concerning the 16-day international break, following objections over its impact on players, clubs and national teams. The new window combined two separate breaks in September and October, each of which had been scheduled to contain two matches, resulting in four matches being played during a single period at the start of the season.
Star injuries intensify criticism of international break
The criticism coincided with a wave of injuries affecting several of football’s leading stars during the latest international break. They included France’s Kylian Mbappé, who missed a large number of his country’s matches, and Norway’s Erling Haaland, who asked to be substituted during Norway’s fourth match of the window.
The pressure also extended to coaches of smaller national teams because of their limited resources, while additional demands were placed on fans’ time and money, as well as on sponsors. These repercussions prompted a debate over whether it was appropriate to bring four international matches together in one extended period instead of distributing them across two separate windows.
Expanded system fixed until 2030
European clubs had long called for the number of interruptions to domestic and continental competitions to be reduced, in return for extending the duration of each international window. The calls aimed to limit disruption to the course of the season, as well as reduce the long journeys made by players travelling to their European clubs from outside the continent.
Club coaches warn of loss of season momentum
But the experience of the past three weeks has not been welcomed by clubs competing in the Champions League. Niko Kovač, Borussia Dortmund’s coach, said the problem was not limited to some players returning injured, but also included a complete loss of momentum for two weeks or two and a half weeks. He added that teams could now be considered to be starting from scratch again.
FIFA, meanwhile, defended the benefits of longer breaks, saying they provided time for regional tournaments to be held outside Europe. The governing body cited the Arab Gulf Cup, in which eight national teams took part and which was held in Saudi Arabia between 23 September and 6 October.
FIFA had already moved in 2021 towards compressing international breaks as part of its then proposal to stage the World Cup every two years, before later updating the men’s football match calendar. After the UEFA meeting, officials said Azerbaijan was the only one of the 55 member associations to clearly defend the way FIFA manages the match calendar.
The four-match window came just two months after the end of the longest World Cup edition ever, the first to feature 48 teams. Norway’s participation in the tournament, held in the United States, Mexico and Canada, continued until last July after the Norwegian team reached the quarter-finals.
Ståle Solbakken, Norway’s coach, said after Haaland was substituted during his country’s defeat by Portugal that the situation was even tougher for players involved in the Champions League, who had had very little rest. European national teams are due to call up their players again for camps beginning on 9 November, in preparation for two Nations League matches.
