Players Union Not Invited To Fifa Player Welfare Meeting

Global players' national Fifpro was not invited to a "key" gathering that Fifa president Gianni Infantino held connected subordinate use wherever a minimum three-week off-season break was agreed, BBC Sport has been told.

World football's governing assemblage claimed Saturday's talks successful New York connected nan eve of nan Club World Cup last "addressed cardinal issues concerning subordinate health", including "critical matters related to nan world lucifer calendar".

Fifa said location was a "consensus" that location should beryllium astatine slightest 72 hours of remainder betwixt matches, and players should person a remainder play of astatine slightest 21 days astatine nan extremity of each season.

However, that is simply a week little than Fifpro had been demanding.

Fifa hailed "productive discussions" Infantino and different officials had pinch "representatives of respective subordinate unions from astir nan world... pinch a circumstantial attraction connected subordinate remainder and recovery".

But BBC Sport has been told nary charismatic from Fifpro - which represents 66,000 men's and women's players astir nan world - aliases nan Professional Footballers' Association, which represents players successful England and Wales, was coming astatine nan meeting.

And it is not clear really binding immoderate of nan agreements are.

The BBC has been told Fifpro's activity is captious of nan process starring to nan announcement, and do not moreover recognise immoderate of nan officials that look successful a photograph Fifa released of nan meeting.

Fifa has been approached for comment.

Last year, amid a backlash complete nan description of nan Club World Cup, Fifpro filed a ineligible complaint against Fifa, claiming it had abused its domiciled nether European title rule by adding much unit to nan fixture schedule.

Last month, a study released by Fifpro said master footballers should beryllium allowed astatine slightest a four-week off-season break to protect them from exhaustion and excessive workload.

Meanwhile, unit connected players is further accrued by nan accelerated turnaround betwixt games - Premier League teams who play successful nan Europa League and Conference League play connected a Thursday nighttime pinch their adjacent convention crippled connected a Sunday.

Fifa said connected Sunday that a remainder time a week should beryllium planned and subordinate travel, particularly long-haul intercontinental trips, arsenic good arsenic nan upwind conditions matches are played in, should besides beryllium considered for nan adjacent world Match Calendar.

It is unclear what effect - if immoderate - nan gathering will person connected nan ineligible action.

Last period Fifpro expressed interest astir nan "wake-up call" of utmost power that players were being exposed to astatine nan Club World Club, demanding much elasticity from Fifa connected kick-off times and protocols.

Fifa said that it and nan subordinate unions "agreed connected nan value of striking nan correct equilibrium betwixt nationalist squad shot and nine football, connected nan 1 hand, and betwixt domestic, continental, and world nine competitions, connected nan different hand".

"It is important to create opportunities for players from each complete nan world to compete successful apical competitions arsenic this boosts world shot development," it added.

In September, a week anterior to suffering an ACL injury, Manchester City midfielder Rodri said players were adjacent to going connected strike because of nan summation successful games, while City team-mate Manuel Akanji suggested he would person to discontinue aged 30 arsenic a consequence of nan deficiency of breaks successful nan calendar.