Report.az
One of the main reasons for dissatisfaction with the new format of the Club World Cup is the injury of football players.
This was stated by Jahangir Hasanzade, Technical Director of AFFA, in an interview with "Report".
The expert expressed his opinion on the dissatisfaction with the Club World Cup, the new format of which was not unequivocally received:
"The biggest reason for the dissatisfaction is that football players have to play a limited number of games to perform at a high level. There are already enough games during the year. This leads to an increase in injuries and psychological fatigue. The Club World Cup is over. The national championships will start in two weeks. In fact, this does not affect small clubs so much. Big clubs already have to play all year round in both domestic and international championships."
He said that budget issues also play a role:
"As a result, clubs have to expand their squads. As the squad grows, it affects the quality and increases costs. This will create enough difficulties in managing the club. The other side of the issue is related to organization. It was the first World Cup and the clubs brought their star football players, for better or worse. At first, the teams will come with optimal squads. But then interest decreases and the next competitions drop to the level of test matches, which will create problems for the organizers. For example, I can give the CIS Cup as an example. Because without stars, it will be difficult to attract spectators. As a result, it will be difficult to cope with the competition."
The AFFA official emphasized that despite the dissatisfaction, the World Cup was interesting:
"In general, based on the first experience, I can say that the Club World Cup was good. It was watchable and watched all over the world. The unpleasant moments are related to injuries. For example, Bayern Munich's football player Jamal Musiala was seriously injured. Football is already a game with high injury risks. It can sometimes cause discomfort in football players who want to rest at the end of the season. True, this could have happened in any case. But the presence of such injuries specifically in this championship creates negative opinions. It didn't turn out bad as a first test, but I can't say what will happen in the coming years. Maybe the format will be changed or fewer teams will participate. But I don't believe that FIFA will take a step back and cancel the competition. A lot depends on the deal between the clubs and FIFA. FIFA can allocate more funds to clubs for participation in this championship."
It should be noted that the winner of the first Club World Cup was England's Chelsea club. The London representative defeated PSG (France) 3:0 in the final of the World Cup held in the USA.
