Jurgen Klopp have knocked FIFA over the implementation and timing of the ongoing Club World Cup in USA.
This year’s Club World Cup, which is taking place in the United States, began on June 14, three weeks after the end of the Premier League season, and concludes on July 13, four weeks before the start of the new top-flight campaign in Europe.
The competition features clubs from across the world, including four African representatives: Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa, Wydad Athletic Club of Morocco, Al Ahly of Egypt and Espérance Sportive of Tunisia.
Before the start of this year’s tournament, FIFPro, the representative organisation of global player unions, recommended a mandatory four-week off-season break for players to ease calendar congestion and protect player welfare.
Klopp’s concern is related to the congestion of the football calendar that makes it more difficult for players to rest after each season.
“In the end, it’s all about the game and not the surrounding aspects – and that’s why the Club World Cup is the worst idea ever implemented in football in this regard,” he told Welt in Germany.
Klopp, who is now the global head of soccer for Red Bull feels the timing and duration of the tournament in its new format heighten the risk of burnout and injuries for players.
“This means no real recovery for the players who are there, neither physically nor mentally.
“An NBA player, who also earns a big salary, has a four-month break every year. This is what (Liverpool defender) Virgil van Dijk got in his entire career.”
He also knock the administrators for their lack of sporting experience with the daily running of football. “People who have never had anything to do with day-to-day business or who no longer have anything to do with it come up with something.
“Last year we had the Copa America and European Championship, this year the Club World Cup and next year then the World Cup,” he said.
