NOT so much flogging a dead horse, but we are definitely flogging our finest footballers.
The Club World Cup, you may have noticed, was won by Manchester City in Saudi Arabia this month.
Manchester City won the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia this monthRex
But while it involved only seven sides, including mighty Auckland City and Urawa Red Diamonds, next time it will be 32. This is crazy.
There is almost universal agreement that elite players are being asked to perform too much already and yet Fifa wants to expand the Club World Cup to 32 teams in summer 2025.
The expansion has been criticised by Fifpro, the global union for professional players, as well as the World Leagues Forum, which represents pro leagues.
Both have raised concerns about player welfare.
La Liga, the Spanish top flight, has come down hard on this latest wheeze and we should do the same.
And the 2026 World Cup is expanding from 32 to 48 nations.
It’s the same elsewhere, as the Champions League is getting ever bigger. From next season it will involve 36 clubs, all playing in a single league with eight group games.
The top eight will qualify for the last-16 knockout stage, while those ranked 9th to 24th can still make it through a play-off.
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APThe Champions League is expanding next year[/caption]
In a nutshell, you can finish 24th in a league and still win the goodies at the end of the season.
Maybe increasing the Champions League from 32 to 36 teams isn’t too much, but then you have the European Championships as well for national teams. Euro 2024 will involve 24 teams.
There is also the 2024-25 Nations League, with games being played next autumn and the finals in June 2025.
Hang on, I hear you ask, isn’t that when the Club World Cup will be held as well? Erm, yes…
Confused? You should be.
Uefa say the expanded Nations League is there to “minimise meaningless friendlies”, but how many of you could recall who won it in 2019, 2021 and 2023?
Most of us understand you need top players performing at the biggest and best competitions but where does all this end? The Premier League is very clear. There are 38 games spread over ten months.
The old First Division was over 42 games and I would argue the reduction has led to improved quality levels.
By the start of January, West Ham will have played 28 games across all competitions (joint third-highest in the Prem).
I haven’t even begun to think how many games on top of this our international stars have played.
So, what Uefa and Fifa are suggesting is squeezing the pips until they squeal.
Top footballers already have to spread themselves too thinly and the danger is that injuries will multiply.
I hear some of you say “fair enough, they are very highly paid”. But we want to see the best football, played by the best players on the best occasions?
The Club World Cup, Champions League, World Cup, Euros, Nations League — it’s too much.
Precious diamonds are priceless because of their rarity. This ever-expanding land-grab suggests football’s governing bodies know the price of everything and the value of nothing.