Premier League chief aims dig at FIFA over plan that impacts Chelsea and Man City
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Premier League chief executive Richard Masters has slammed the upcoming Club World Cup, insisting it could create 'great difficulty' for Chelsea and Manchester City. The Blues and City are the Premier League's two participants in the revamped competition. It will be held for the first time in the summer, with the United States to host the 32-team tournament.
The tournament is being driven by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, but has been met with huge pushback from clubs and players. The Club World Cup will kick off on 14 June, with the final to be held on 13 July. If City or Chelsea reach the final, they will have just a month to prepare for the new Premier League season, which kicks off on 15 August. That short timeline in an already packed calendar has now drawn criticism from Masters.
“The leagues and the players’ unions are not happy with the decisions that are being taken at a global level,” he said in an interview for The Boardroom podcast from Sky Sports. “We’ve seen the Club World Cup come in, and obviously that is going to have an impact on the Premier League. If either Manchester City or Chelsea get to the final of that competition, the Premier League starts four weeks later.
"All players are supposed to have three weeks off as part of the contractual commitment. So how does that work? With great difficulty I would say. We believe that if leagues and players’ unions were involved in the decision-making processes about how these competitions are put together, you’d have better outcomes. That’s what we’re calling for.”.
