Former Liverpool coach at forefront growing FIFA crisis; 'health of players is at risk’

A former Liverpool coach is at the forefront of a growing crisis at FIFA. The organisation is now under threat.

FIFA have come under enormous criticism this week as the growing number of games moves to the forefront of a power struggle. Premier League boss Richard Masters is one of those backing a potential strike from players.

La Liga chief Javier Tebas is another criticising the organisation ahead of the Club World Cup next year. The expanded tournament will bring about a number of new fixtures for some of the world's biggest clubs - and they're already near a breaking point.

“We have sent letters and FIFA have ignored us,” he claimed.

“If we don’t take action the industry is in danger…We are destroying football. Now we need to resort to legal action. We can’t wait a day longer.”

FIFPro, the player's union, is now voicing its concerns over workload. They're backing potential strike action if nothing is done about the growing number of fixtures.

Darren Burgess, formerly the head of fitness at Liverpool, now chairs the FIFPro high performance advisory network. He spoke at FIFPro's season review this week and made it perfectly clear that changes must come.

Darren Burgess to FIFA

“Someone under 21, their tendons aren’t fully grown, everything is still growing until their mid-20s. Demand on young players is enormous and only getting bigger,” he said, per the Independent.

“A blackout period in the off-season is a simple solution that should be done automatically – three or four weeks where no tournament can be scheduled.”

“The mental health of players is at risk if we continue down this path,” he went on to say.

“Players are not recovering properly from games, from seasons. The upcoming calendar will exacerbate these issues further.”

It seems change will come one way or the other. Exactly what effect it will have on the world game is unclear for now, though.