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IOL News
10 hours ago
- Sport
- IOL News
Is Fifa Club World Cup a risk to player welfare and the integrity of football?
Paris Saint-Germain's players will not have the opportunity to recover from a season that included a historic Champions League triumph over Inter Milan. Image: Ina Fassbender/AFP The expanded 32-team Fifa Club World Cup kicks off in the US next week with fears that the sport's governing body could be killing the goose that laid the golden egg, with profits placed above player welfare. Most of the criticism of the tournament has focused on the timing, in the off-season window when players usually recharge after gruelling domestic and continental campaigns. It was not such a major factor in its previous guise, when it featured a handful of teams who only played a few matches. The current tournament will now run for almost a month, with the eight groups of four teams playing 63 matches in total. The top two in each group will qualify for the knockout rounds. The $1bn prize money is an obvious drawcard for the clubs involved, including South African champions Mamelodi Sundowns. But the clubs are likely to pay a heavy toll next season in terms of players' mental and physical fatigue, with depression, anxiety and burnout increasing the risk of injury. Yet, player welfare seems increasingly relegated to the bottom of a priority list that is dominated by the profit motive, and outright greed of Fifa. The warning cries from the likes of players' union FIFPRO, as well as those of players like Manchester City midfielder Rodri, seem to have been swept under the carpet. The situation is only made worse by a bloated calendar for European teams, especially with the addition of the Uefa Nations League to the international calendar and the Uefa Conference League to the ever-expanding intercontinental club tournaments. Manchester City midfielder Rodri has been one of the critics of the increasing player workload. Photo: EPA Image: EPA The number of English Premiership clubs decimated by injuries seems to be increasing, with Manchester City, Tottenham and title challengers Arsenal hard hit at times this season. Even current champions Liverpool went through an injury nightmare a few seasons ago that hobbled their title challenge. Yet, the current schedule is particularly punishing for players from clubs that went far in the Uefa Champions League and then took part in the Nations League finals during the recent international break, before jetting off to the US. Champions League winners PSG's French and Portuguese internationals spring most readily to mind. The European powerhouse is likely to go deep into the Club World Cup, based on previous results, so those players aren't likely to have much of a break before they have to gear up for next season. The temptation must be strong for the so-called bigger clubs to field second-string teams to protect their prized assets. But Fifa is not likely to take too kindly to that. They will surely demand their pound of flesh. Fifa, for their part, will point out that the tournament will now take place every four years, as opposed to every year. That will be cold comfort for players who already feel stretched thin by their increasingly demanding schedules.
Local Germany
04-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Local Germany
IN PICTURES: The wildest 'Rosenmontag' floats at this year's Carnival in Germany
Costume-clad revellers took to the streets in German cities to mark the end of the famous carnival season on Rosenmontag (Rose Monday). Rosenmontag, as its known in German speaking countries, is more often called Shrove Monday in English, and takes place ahead of Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent in the Christian tradition. It marks the most ecstatic celebrations in Germany's carnival season which starts months earlier on the 11th of November. Many German cities, especially those in the west side of the country, celebrate Rosenmontag with lavish parades. Düsseldorf and Cologne are both known for hosting bombastic parades filled with immaculately decorated floats. Here's a look at some of the wildest parade floats seen at the Rosenmontag parades this year: Revellers surround a float on wokeness during the parade to celebrate Rose Monday (Rosenmontag). Photo: Ina Fassbender / AFP One notable float this year anticipated the criticism some of the parade floats could be expected to receive: an eyeball labelled "wokeness" stares down a nervous-looking man wearing a hat labelled "satire". Many of the floats in Düsseldorf's parade depict politicians or recent events with sharp satire. Among the bigger targets of this year's political humour was US President Donald Trump. Trump was also joined by billionaire turned political force Elon Musk, who has been savaging US public services with cuts recently. Musk sparked controversy in Germany this year when he repeatedly weighed into the federal elections in support of the far-right AfD. Russian President Vladimir Putin was also a leading character this year, and he was seen with Trump in scenes depicting recent developments around Russia's invasion of Ukraine. A float portraying Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump forming a 'Hitler - Stalin - Pact 2.0' to squash Ukraine and its President Zelensky. Photo: Ina Fassbender / AFP Pro-Russian politicians in Germany, including Left Party defector Sahra Wagenknecht and AfD leader Alice Weidel, were also satirised in Cologne this year. The politicians were depicted on a float bearing the words, "From Moscow with love" and seen brandishing sunflowers with Putin's face on them, bursting out of a suitcase full of money. Of course, there were more than a few less-than-flattering depictions of the AfD to be seen at the carnival parades. A float portrays AfD co-leader Alice Weidel as the witch from the tale 'Hänsel and Gretel' trying to lure first voters into her house. Photo: Ina Fassbender / AFP AfD co-leader Alice Weidel was seen as the witch from the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, trying to lure voters into her house. Meanwhile, conservative leader and soon-to-be German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was seen as a mule weighed down by a heavy pile of political burdens. A float portraying Friedrich Merz as donkey trying to pull a cart full of political problems such as 'migration', 'Trump', 'recession', 'debt-brake' and 'AfD'. Photo: Ina Fassbender / AFP Merz is currently in the process of trying to form a coalition with the centre-right SPD after his centre-right CDU/CSU alliance swept to victory in the federal elections on February 23rd. In Cologne, the right-wing politician was seen ripping through a red banner with the words "Chancellor Scholz" to turn the word Scholz into "Schmerz" - the German word for pain. Outgoing Chancellor Olaf Scholz was also seen on a ship labelled 'Abgesoffen' (sunken), depicting his Social Democrats Party's historically low results in the recent election. While politics dominated the carnival parades in both Rhineland cities, festival-goers also enjoyed some incisive commentary on wider societal issues. In a hilarious float that many commuters in Germany will no doubt relate to, the Cologne parade featured a skeleton with flowers and chocolates waiting for a delayed train to Cologne Central Station. Commentary on the frequency of delayed trains in Germany at Cologne Carnival. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Oliver Berg The float was capitioned "Liebes Entzug" - or the revocation of love - which plays on the German word 'Zug', meaning train. Deutsche Bahn, Germany's national rail operator, has become notorious for its frequent delays and cancellations in recent years. Artificial intelligence, which has soared to prominence with tools like ChatGPT in recent years, also made an appearance at Düsseldorf's parade in the form of a robot feasting on a human brain. A float portraying an Artificial Intelligence robot feeding on a brain. Photo: Ina Fassbender / AFP According to a report by t-online, around 700,000 were estimated to have attended the parade in Düsseldorf this year. Seated with a front row view of the procession were local politicians Lord Mayor Stephan Keller (CDU), Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) and Mona Neubaur (Greens), among others. In Cologne, meanwhile, around 12,500 people took part in the Rose Monday parades alone, with around a million people travelling to the city to witness the vibrant spectacle.
