By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
Association football (soccer) is the world’s most popular sport, but is there too much of it?
The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) thinks so!
The PFA was founded in 1907 and is the trade union for professional footballers in England and Wales.
The PFA is concerned about the increasingly congested football calendar and the demands that it makes on players.
Next season, the Champions and Europa leagues will expand to 36 teams in currently the group stage, when there will be eight matches instead of six. The teams finishing between ninth and twenty-fourth must survive a two-legged play off to reach the last sixteen.
In addition, the campaign will be followed by a 32-team Club World Cup.
The 2025-26 campaign will be followed by a 48-team World Cup, which will include a last-32 tie.
The manager of Burnley FC, Vincent Kompany, has called for a 60-match cap in September on players.
Most of the other English Premier League managers have expressed their concerns about the increasing number of games.
The PFA are reviewing their legal options for challenging this situation and believe that the recent ruling by the Court of Justice of the European Union in the European Super League case may assist them in their endeavours!
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘