In a scathing attack, the leading players’ union, Fifpro, has called Fifa’s new Club World Cup “nothing more than a fiction.”
Fifpro president Sergio Marchi criticized the tournament as a “grandiloquent staging” reminiscent of the Roman emperor Nero, saying Fifa was increasing its revenue at the “expense of the players’ bodies and health.”
The rebuke follows revelations that Fifpro was not invited to a key meeting on player welfare with Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
Marchi stated the tournament was organized without “dialogue, sensitivity, and respect” for players.
Fifpro also raised concerns about the “unacceptable” heat during the US-based tournament, warning that such conditions must not be repeated at the 2026 World Cup.
While Infantino has hailed the competition as a success and a new “golden era” for global football, Marchi insisted the event “hides a dangerous disconnect with the true reality” faced by most players.
