Top clubs agree to press for compensation
Tuesday, 17 February 2004 16:24Europe's top clubs agreed today to press for compensation payments when their players are called up for international tournaments. They also stressed their total opposition to FIFA's Club World Championship.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the chairman of the 102-strong European Club Forum said: "All the clubs are of the opinion that it is fair to ask confederations, including UEFA and FIFA, to compensate clubs for the release of players for international tournaments. At the same time the clubs will continue to give their full support to national team football, but we hope that it will be possible to find a practical solution which is fair to all parties."
While the clubs agreed to pursue that development, they also rejected proposals to re-launch the Club World Championship. The tournament was held for the first time in 2000, but the 2003 tournament was cancelled because of a lack of funding. FIFA want to stage it again in 2005, but the clubs are opposed to the idea.
In a statement they said they agreed to a reduction in Champions League matches this season to ease the workload on their players and to re-introduce the World Championship would be counter-productive.
"It would be incoherent to support any additional tournament so we have unanimously agreed to reject, for a variety of reasons, any proposal for a FIFA Club World Championship," they said.
Filed by Mark O'Neill-Cummins
