FIFA FIXED FRIENDLY MATCH DATES

Remember what I wrote about the disadvantages of friendlies?

Walcott was injured when he slipped on the rain-soaked pitch in Berlin during a training session on Tuesday ahead of England’s friendly win over Germany. It seems Wenger agrees with me that November 19 friendlies were meaningless.

As well as losing Walcott, Wenger will also be without Kolo Toure for Saturday’s game with Manchester City after the defender reported for international duty with the Ivory Coast and aggravated an injury he picked up against Aston Villa last week.

It seems Wenger agrees with me that November 19 Friendlies were meaningless.
“The sad thing is that this was a friendly game in mid-November before many important club fixtures.” Wenger added: “It is bad timing because it doesn’t prepare teams for official games because there are no games before March, and also because it just in front of some very important club games.” No wonder so many players “faked” injuries.

According to Wenger, “So many players have pulled out because this international break is very badly positioned. It would be very interesting for Fifa and Uefa to make a study of the players who did not play in any national team but who will play on Saturday or in the Champions League next week.”

According to FIFA Regulations Regarding the Eligibility and Release of International Players, Art. 39: “A player who is unable to comply with a summons from the national association of which he is a national owing to injury or illness shall, if the association so requires, agree to undergo a medical examination by a doctor of that association’s choice.”

I think it should either be mandatory for associations to require a player not showing up for national duty due to injury or illness to undergo medical examination by a doctor of that association or FIFA should revise the “fixed” friendly match dates. The friendly matches played on these badly positioned “fixed” friendly match dates are meaningless that’s why players fake injuries.

The next fixed friendly match date is February 11, 2009. However, the fixed date for official competition matches “is” 28 March to April 1. I think the dates should be shifted to a week or two before official competition matches. For example, Africa Cup of Nations finals will take place from January 10 – 31, 2010. However, the fixed date for friendlies “is” 14-18 November, 2009. World Cup will take place from June 11 – July 11, 2010 but the fixed date for friendlies is March 03, 2010. Makes sense?

I think all leagues around the world should factor in all national competition schedules when coming up with their fixtures. That way FIFA would easily shift the “fixed” friendly dates and most professional players would show up for the international friendly matches.

Also, I think the period of release of a player for a qualifying match for an international competition should be prolonged from the current four days (including the day of the match) to 2 weeks. The way it is right now, the national teams with a lot of professional players are at a disadvantage because the professional and local players don’t have enough time to train/practice together. No wonder some “big” national teams fail to qualify. Food for thought.