A few weeks before the World Cup (20 July – 20 August, in Australia and New Zealand), the European Club Association (ECA) announced on Wednesday that it was impossible to register players before the legal deadline set by FIFA, ten days before to be canceled Competition begins on July 20th. However, all national teams have already planned to start their preparations well ahead of that date, for example with a friendly against Ireland in Dublin on 6 July for the French team.

In a press release issued this Wednesday, March 26the ECA has confirmed that the players called up by the various national coaches will not be released to prepare for the 9th edition of the 2023 World Cup, before the legal date indicated by FIFA, 10 July. However, Les Bleues were set to meet between mid-June and early July very soon after the championship was due to end on May 28th. An understandable need for Hervé Renard and his staff, who arrived last February after the dismissal of Corinne Deacon, to best prepare their strategy and players for this great competition.

“A serious concern for

the well-being of the players

Chaired by PSG President Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, the ECA states in its press release: ” Concerned by the volume of warnings from our member clubs regarding the current widespread practice by National Associations (NAs) of calling up players internationally for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 outside of the mandatory release periods, as outlined in the FIFA International Match Calendar. » Only four of the twelve teams playing in D1 Arkema today are represented in the ECA: PSG, Olympique Lyonnais, FCG Bordeaux and MHSC!

The association explains: This lack of calm, caused by early call-ups, is obviously at odds with the protection of players’ health and well-being, which the ECA says must always be a priority. “Before I continue in a firm tone:” […] European clubs will endeavor to strictly adhere to the mandatory release period and will require that the rules for releasing players for their national teams before the tournament are followed. […] With the tournament starting on July 20, the mandatory release period for the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 begins on July 10.

Claire Bloomfield, manager of women’s football at the ECA, warned that clubs’ interests would be defended as they also had to prepare for their 2023/24 season: “It is not a question of financial compensation or lack of proper protection and insurance, but a serious concern for the welfare of the players. “Indeed, a player who has not yet signed with a club and who would injure himself on selection outside of FIFA dates could be left with nothing for next season.

Claire Bloomfield continued by reminding: “The issue of early call-ups is a form of amateurism and is detrimental to the success and future growth of women’s football. They also create a lot of unnecessary tension in the relationship between clubs and their players. Bloomfield concludes, “Our member clubs have given us a very clear mandate, which includes communicating constructively and directly with our key stakeholders and partners, and that will be our focus in the coming days. » by noting in particular their partnership with FIFA to protect players at clubs.

The French Football Federation has not yet commented on the matter. Bleues coach Hervé Renard – already under time pressure despite two interesting victories against Colombia (5-2) and Canada (2-1) in his first games – will find it even more difficult to prepare his players for this fateful world!