Fifa's Women's Club World Cup has been scheduled for January 2028, which could have "catastrophic" effects on England's Women's Super League (WSL) schedule. The competition will feature teams from around the world and includes up to six European clubs.
The WSL is concerned about the timing of the tournament, as it would take place in the middle of their 2027-28 season. With other European domestic leagues sharing similar concerns, the league's officials argue that rescheduling the tournament could be tricky.
"We are not saying we do not want Fifa to bring in new competitions," said a WSL spokesperson. "We are fully on board with a strategy to help the women's game grow globally." However, they express concerns about fixture congestion and the potential impact on player fitness.
Fifa's chief football officer Jill Ellis believes that the timing of the tournament was chosen carefully. She thinks it will be an opportunity for players to compete in a global event and for clubs to showcase their strength. However, she also acknowledges that it may cause some scheduling issues.
Players' union Fifpro has suggested that underloaded footballers are at a greater risk of injury if they do not receive enough matches. The WSL is now considering its options, but asking English teams to boycott the competition is currently not on the table.
One possible solution is to move the WSL's winter break so it covers the Club World Cup in 2028. This would allow the league to avoid a potential fixture backlog and minimize the impact on player fitness.
While some players are in need of more matches, others may struggle with the increased competition schedule. The Women's Football Weekly podcast will continue to provide coverage and analysis of the WSL season and its developments.
The WSL is concerned about the timing of the tournament, as it would take place in the middle of their 2027-28 season. With other European domestic leagues sharing similar concerns, the league's officials argue that rescheduling the tournament could be tricky.
"We are not saying we do not want Fifa to bring in new competitions," said a WSL spokesperson. "We are fully on board with a strategy to help the women's game grow globally." However, they express concerns about fixture congestion and the potential impact on player fitness.
Fifa's chief football officer Jill Ellis believes that the timing of the tournament was chosen carefully. She thinks it will be an opportunity for players to compete in a global event and for clubs to showcase their strength. However, she also acknowledges that it may cause some scheduling issues.
Players' union Fifpro has suggested that underloaded footballers are at a greater risk of injury if they do not receive enough matches. The WSL is now considering its options, but asking English teams to boycott the competition is currently not on the table.
One possible solution is to move the WSL's winter break so it covers the Club World Cup in 2028. This would allow the league to avoid a potential fixture backlog and minimize the impact on player fitness.
While some players are in need of more matches, others may struggle with the increased competition schedule. The Women's Football Weekly podcast will continue to provide coverage and analysis of the WSL season and its developments.
... the wsl needs some flexibility in its schedule, not more rigid tournaments that'll have teams playing every other week 
and honestly, who's gonna benefit from this? the players or fifa? it's all about the benjamins, mate 
? england's wsl is gonna be literally flooded with players from all over the world in jan 2028... it's like, they gotta prioritize the ladies or somethin' 
a winter break would def help tho... maybe fifa can also think about dat instead of just throwin a club world cup outta nowhere 
... players need rest n recovery time, but with all the other european leagues havin similar probs, its def not easy 2 fix 
... idk what fifa's thinkin but if they keep it up, we'll see alot of injuries n burnout 
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i mean seriously tho, cant they just reschedule like for real? 
i get that they wanna promote womens football globally, but scheduling is key here. maybe the wsl can just move their winter break or something? 
for the teams in the wsl 
but maybe rescheduling their winter break could help 
that way they can avoid the fixtue backlog 
and keep players fit 
still not sure about this one 
and we all know how much those gals love to play football lol
and now the wsl is trying 2 figure out what 2 do 
maybe they cud just move the wsls winter break so it covers the club world cup in 2028? 
that would be a clever solution lol
. And what if they just move the winter break to cover the Club World Cup? That would solve some problems, but then again, some teams might struggle with all those extra games 
.