Spanish League Attacks FIFA's Plan for Bigger Club World Cup

The Spanish league believes FIFA's proposal for a larger Club World Cup will be detrimental rather than beneficial, AP reported.

"FIFA only takes into account a small group of clubs and players, when in professional football there are many professional leagues, thousands of clubs and players who do not participate in these international competitions," the Spanish league said Saturday.

"FIFA seems to forget that and only thinks of a few, without knowing the impact on all in professional football."

The Spanish league claimed this and other FIFA decisions "made unilaterally and without notice regarding the calendar with new international tournaments irreparably damage the entire football ecosystem" a day after FIFA president Gianni Infantino presented his idea of a 32-team Club World Cup for 2025.

The 2021 competition included seven clubs and was won by Chelsea.

The 32-team Club World Cup "will go ahead, making it genuinely like a World Cup," Infantino said during a speech at the World Cup in Qatar.

Along with other calendar changes, Infantino proposed the notion of a four-team friendly competition for national teams in March of even-numbered years before to major championships. This occurs after FIFA finalised its intentions to expand the 2026 World Cup competition from 32 to 48 teams.

The Spanish league stated that it would "to prevent the Club World Cup with the planned format" contemplate taking legal action.

Similar objections about not being contacted before Infantino announced the intentions had already been made by the World Leagues Forum. The international players' union FIFPRO also raised concerns about an expanded Club World Cup as being harmful to athletes' health.