In this writer’s book, ‘States of Play’, former Fifa Council member Moya Dodd describes the international football calendar as “a wealth allocation mechanism upon which the game hinges”.
Tension is already building about the Premier League’s refusal to grant City or Chelsea delayed starts to the 2025-26 season over their participation in the Club World Cup.
This is viewed as one reason why Gianni Infantino has so personally anchored his legacy to an expanded Club World Cup, and feeds into why Aleksander Ceferin acquiesced on the expanded Champions League.
As managers navigate longer injury lists as a result of increasingly packed calendar and high-intensity tactics, the work of performance directors is beginning to shape the sport, writes Miguel Delaney.
You only have to look at the news of the last few weeks, as Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Nicolas Jackson joined players like Joe Gomez and Micky van de Ven in succumbing.
