The meeting in northern
The Professional Footballers’ Association leadership has previously called
Infantino said that while the players discussed “whether the prestige of the World Cup would be less if it’s played every two years," that it was not a “main topic" in the talks.
“It was really for us and for them — how can we put the players in the best condition to perform the best in the best games," Infantino said in a phone call with The Associated Press and another reporter after the meeting. “They said ... we would like to play every game, every day if we could but it’s just not possible. The player load and rest was the big one."
A new international calendar is needed in the women's game from 2024 and from the following year in the men's game.
“It’s really about how we could structure the rest periods for the players for them to be able to perform better in the games,” Infantino said. "It was less about the biennial
“Of course, the biennial
Infantino was joined
“When we speak about the load, the number of days, the kind of competitions that we want to organize,” Infantino said, “of course, we need to care about the players. We want to protect the players. And in order to know really what their concerns are, we need to talk to them directly.”
The PFA, which asked last month for the meeting with Infantino, represents players across the English men's and women's leagues.
“If those who play the game are to have meaningful input into decisions about its future," PFA chief executive Maheta Molango said, "then this kind of dialogue is absolutely critical.”
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