NEW YORK: A meeting organised by FIFA to discuss player welfare was devalued because the world football federation snubbed international players’ union FIFPRO.

FIFA said the meeting with some players’ representatives had agreed there should be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and players should have a rest period of at least 21 days at the end of each season. This is a week less than FIFPRO’s own demand.

FIFA hailed “productive discussions” Infantino and other officials had with “representatives of several player unions from around the world… with a specific focus on player rest and recovery”. But it offered nothing in terms of formal proposals.

Last year, amid a backlash over the expansion of the Club World Cup, FIFPRO launched a legal claim against the world body, claiming it had abused its role under European competition law by adding more pressure to the fixture schedule.

Last month a FIFPRO study said professional footballers should be allowed at least a four-week off-season break to protect them from exhaustion and excessive workload.

The issue player stress was highlighted by FIFA’s decision to jam the Club World Cup into the summer ahead of a season which runs on into next year’s World Cup.

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