<\/p>\n
International match calendar under review, with nothing decided from 2024 onwards;\u00a0Avram Grant calls for an end to stop-start calendar;\u00a0Former Israel coach says reform proposals a \u2018win-win\u2019 for clubs and national teams.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Avram Grant has called for changes to the international match calendar, saying that the status quo is \u201ca nightmare\u201d for coaches and that proposals for reform would be beneficial for clubs, national teams and players at any level.<\/p>\n
Grant asserts that coaches need time to work with their players in order to build teams and the former Israel and Ghana national team coach added that removing meaningless matches from the schedules of high-class athletes can benefit all concerned in football.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo receive players three or four days before the game, like it is now \u2013 and sometimes players always miss the first training sessions after their flights: it\u2019s really a nightmare,\u201d said Grant. \u201cIt\u2019s not good as a national team coach because you cannot build anything.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe suggestion here is to make it for a longer period of time and that\u2019s fantastic for the coach and the players. For me, it gives me the opportunity to build a team, to develop them and give them ideas. I can tell you that I started every meeting showing them the highlights or the things to improve from the last [international] game, because I don\u2019t know if the game\u2019s still in their mind.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opinions of the main protagonists in football are being canvassed as part of a wide-ranging consultation process into the future of men\u2019s football, being led by FIFA\u2019s Chief of Global Football Development, Ars\u00e8ne Wenger.<\/p>\n
FIFA is facilitating debate into how the match calendar should look from 2024 with a view to optimising the schedule for all stakeholders, listening to a wide range of views before making proposals. The review was requested by the overwhelming majority of FIFA\u2019s member associations at the 71st FIFA Congress to make the calendar more appropriate for the modern day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was a child, friendly matches were very nice and very exciting because there were no other competitions. Now, in qualification, let\u2019s be honest, [there are] some boring games, you know the players don\u2019t like it, the coaches don\u2019t like it, and the fans don\u2019t like it. So, if we have more meaningful games, it\u2019s fantastic.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n