Thierry Henry calls on FIFA, UEFA to have ‘educational discussion’ with players about fixture congestion

Thierry Henry has called upon FIFA and UEFA to have a serious conversation with current players to find a solution on fixture congestion, which continues to cause concerns about player welfare.

The increased number of competitive games in recent years means some players take part in as many as 60 or 70 games a season, which not only hampers players’ ability to compete during the club season but can impact their performances with their national teams during major competitions. Henry said he did not play as many games as players do now but even he dealt with the wear and tear of a long season during his playing career.

“I’ve been in that situation, maybe not the number [of games] that those guys are reaching right now. I used to arrive in tournaments dead – mentally, physically,” Henry said said during the UEFA Champions League Today pre-match show on Wednesday. “2002 [World Cup], I arrived injured. [Euro] 2004, I arrived injured. [Euro] 2008, I arrived injured. I just arrived there to play. I couldn’t prepare. You don’t prepare [for] a competition. Normally, you should prepare [for] a competition like that to be able to perform at the highest level – not only me, a lot of players.”

The CBS Sports analyst argued that the modern realities of the game, though, mean that retired players can only offer so much help in finding a solution.

“For me, it’s pretty simple,” he said. “It’s not about complaining and it’s not about saying players earn too much money or debating. It’s about having an educational discussion with the players’ union – a proper one, not with the ex-players. Don’t call me, UEFA. Do not call me, FIFA. I’m not playing anymore. I don’t know how it feels anymore. I know how it felt, I don’t know how it feels anymore so speak to [Virgil] van Dijk, speak to Mo Salah. … Sit with them. Have a discussion with them. They are the actors right now.”

Fellow analyst Jamie Carragher agreed with Henry, especially since governing bodies continue to tease adding more games to the calendar. CONMEBOL formally pitched a 64 team World Cup in 2030 to FIFA last week, though FIFA is not considering the idea. The idea of a World Cup or a Club World Cup every two years has also been proposed, though those pitches have never been formalized.

“This is not getting scaled back no matter what we say and Thierry’s right and it maybe would have to come to a situation where the greatest players in the world come together and say enough is enough and to refuse to play,” Carragher said.

Both Henry and Carragher singled out the UEFA Nations League, the first iteration of which began in September 2018, and FIFA’s new-look Club World Cup, which took place in the U.S. last summer, as competitions that only accentuate the problem.

“UEFA adding the Nations League – it wasn’t needed,” Carrager said. “FIFA adding the Club World Cup was not needed. Nobody is out there asking for those competitions. They’re just providing them to make more money and that’s it. We know why there is more games.”

Henry added that he barely watched the Club World Cup.

“As a fan, I’m tired,” he said. “I did not watch the Club World Cup. I had to do something in the final. I left [at] halftime. … It’s too much. I love my family and at [some] point, I need a break or so. I love football but who watched it? Come on. Too much is too much, and I love it but let’s all be honest – too much is too much.”

Henry also argued that the growing number of official competitions comes at a financial cost to fans.

“How deep is your pocket now as a fan?,” he said. “How deep is your pocket now if you go to the Nations League, to go to the Champions League, to go to the two cup [competitions] you have in England and to buy the shirts?”

The World Cup winner also called upon the current group of players ” to be strong and to be vocal about it” in the hopes of fostering meaningful change.

“We don’t have the power to change it as ex-players and we’re not sitting in the position to take decisions so we can be talking here for the whole day bringing great solutions – great – and have great ideas,” Henry said. “The only people that can change their destiny is the players themselves.”