Gerard Pique proposes radical changes to football to introduce 'more exclusive experiences' in response to scheduling complaints

Pique’s remarks come amid growing frustration within the football community regarding the number of matches players are required to play. A joint complaint has been filed by FIFPRO Europe and the European Leagues association to the European Union’s antitrust regulators against FIFA over the congested international match calendar, which has become a major point of contention.

FIFA’s introduction of a new 32-team Club World Cup in 2025, along with the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams in 2026, has been criticized for adding unnecessary strain on players. UEFA, too, has contributed to the crowded schedule by increasing the number of matchdays in the Champions League and introducing the Nations League in 2018.

Pique is all too familiar with the physical toll of the modern football calendar and while speaking at The Summit, part of Leaders Week London, he said: "There are too many games, and we are seeing now players saying 'listen, we are getting injured. There are games every three days, we don't have time to rest in summer'."

The former defender then belted out a solution as he suggested cutting down the size of domestic leagues from 20 to 16 teams, thus lessening the fixture burden on players.

"I would suggest to reduce the games," he said.

"Go to the leagues and say, 'listen, instead of 20 teams, why you don't do leagues of 16 teams...And at the same time, I would go to UEFA and say, 'why you create this Nations League, which is the new competition that is difficult to follow' and I will go to FIFA and say, 'okay, don't do this FIFA World Cup of clubs that you created now'...I understand that they want to generate more revenues, but for the sake of football, I think that it could be much better to have less games, more premium and more exclusive (experiences) and it will be much easier also to follow from the audience point of view, and for players, it will be less games."

In a landscape where footballers are playing more games than ever, Pique’s proposals highlight the urgent need for governing bodies to reassess the direction of the sport. However, FIFA has historically downplayed concerns over the introduction of new competitions and increase in fixtures as they argue that their games make only a small percentage of the total fixtures players are required to play each season.