COMING hot on the heels of handing Donald Trump a peace prize, Fifa’s latest stunt is arguably even more absurd.
This is, after all, an organisation meant to be the governing body of world football.
And not a financial institution endlessly inventing new products to flog to the highest bidder.
In their wisdom, the game’s ruling bosses decided that following the rip-roaring success of last summer’s Club World Cup they would do . . . precisely the same again, but this time for women.
This has been met by a chorus of disapproval from the WSL and all other major European leagues — and I can’t say I’m surprised.
In fact, the WSL called Fifa’s plan “catastrophic”.
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Just to wet our whistles for the women’s version of the Club World Cup, we have the inaugural Champions Cup.
This is a four-team tournament that features continental champions from around the world — including Arsenal — and it kicks off in London next week.
So, that’s yet another Fifa trophy that nobody wants and nobody is looking forward to.
But the women’s Club World Cup is not a five-day affair. It has been scheduled to run from January 5-30, 2028 and echoes the men’s version.
Understandably, the reaction has ranged from bewilderment to anger — as it will be slap bang in the middle of the 2027-28 WSL season.
A WSL spokesperson said: “At best, it will cause scheduling issues. At worst, it will be catastrophic for the game in this country, our commercial programme and, more importantly, the welfare of players.”
Ah, the welfare of players. Since when has that bothered Fifa?
The women’s Club World Cup will be squeezed between the 2027 Women’s World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics. You can almost hear the pips squeak.
Proposals for the women’s Club World Cup suggest it would involve 16 teams, including up to six European clubs.
Yet another Fifa trophy that nobody wants and nobody is looking forward to.
From England, this would include current Champions League holders Arsenal and, potentially, Chelsea based on current coefficients.
Qualification pathways for separate continents have not been revealed, and neither has the host. Yet Qatar is strongly tipped. No, I’m not exactly shocked about that either.
The WSL argue that this extra tournament would mean five league match weeks being rescheduled, leading to a potential fixture pile-up and an impact on player welfare.
You might think Fifa would listen to those in the game warning over burnout.
But president Gianni Infantino is too busy sucking up to new best pal Trump, handing him a Fifa Peace Prize just a few weeks before the American President threatened to invade Greenland.
WSL chiefs would rather any planned Club World Cup is held in a summer when there are no other tournaments.
But Fifa are unlikely to listen, so the WSL could move their 2027-28 winter break — currently held from mid-December to early January — to accommodate at least some of the Club World Cup.
This is yet another example of Fifa failing to listen.
As far as I can tell, there has been no stampede for the men’s Club World Cup to be repeated.
But the next version, in 2029, will be bigger, with 48 teams instead of the 32 that competed last summer.
Do Fifa ever learn? They certainly don’t listen. The WSL are rightly incensed and, most importantly, so are the players. They are, above all others, the ones Fifa should be looking after.
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