The French footballers’ union is considering taking legal action over changes to football’s international calendar which it says are impacting on players’ physical and mental health.

David Terrier, the vice-president of the UNFP, claims FIFA has introduced a 32-team Club World Cup to an already congested calendar without proper consultation, and says its actions are driven by “a thirst for money”.

Terrier’s comments to the PA news agency follow a warning from Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango in December that the stage had been reached where “people are ready to take legal action” over this issue.

Terrier said: “Faced with the refusal of FIFA and UEFA, faced with the addition of competitions, the drastic increase in injuries, mental fatigue which is hitting more and more players, what other answer can we give than to initiate legal proceedings which will allow us to stop the headlong rush promoted by FIFA in its thirst for competition and – no one is fooled – for money?

“It is necessary that it stops. We are already studying at the UNFP the possibilities offered to us to bring the calendar issue before the courts. We can’t be blamed for not trying to find a solution through dialogue.

“The international calendar is adrift and it is up to us to bring it back to port as quickly as possible using all means at our disposal.”

PA understands any legal action taken by UNFP would not be directly against FIFA.

Terrier said the current schedule was “insane” even without the new-look Club World Cup, which is set to take place in the United States in the summer of 2025.

Terrier called on others to support players on this issue, adding: “What I don’t understand, apart from the words of the coaches, some too rare presidents and the medical profession, why (unions and) the players, are the only ones fighting against disruption of the calendar.

“Because this also impacts clubs, whose players are more often injured, and the national leagues which, as in France, are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain TV rights that live up to their expectations.

“It must be said that the repetition of matches ultimately harms the quality of the show and neither the broadcasters nor the spectators are fooled.

“Today and tomorrow will be worse, everyone loses. So why are we the only ones to fight? It’s incomprehensible.”

Domestic leagues are understood to be assessing their legal options in regard to the Club World Cup, over concerns of the direct impact it will have on start dates for their competitions and indirectly on the value of television rights, with only a finite amount of broadcaster cash available to spend.

Paris St Germain will be France’s sole representatives in the Club World Cup, and their president Nasser Al Khelaifi is the president of the European Club Association which has endorsed the tournament.

A FIFA spokesperson said: “The decision to enlarge the FIFA Club World Cup is in line with FIFA’s Vision as the tournament will provide a relevant platform for clubs from all continents, giving them the opportunity to compete on the world stage, thus taking club football to the next level.

“This is also in line with FIFA’s objective of making football truly global by having clubs competing at the highest level.

“The enlarged FIFA Club World Cup, which is supported by the European Club Association (ECA) and will take place once every four years, also fits into FIFA’s key objective to have meaningful football matches, while also recognising that many regions need more competitive football.

“When it comes to player welfare, it’s worth stressing that the FIFA Club World Cup replaces the FIFA Confederations Cup which was last played in 2017. FIFA has not simply ‘added’ a new competition but also annulled one.”

Footballers’ union boss Maheta Molango has highlighted the value of collective bargaining agreements in women’s sport, in a week featuring a World Cup bonus dispute between the England squad and the Football Association.

The PA news agency understands the Lionesses have been left disappointed by the fact the FA will not follow the lead of the Australian and American federations – where CBAs are in place – in paying bonuses on top of prize money being paid to players direct by tournament organiser FIFA.

Players are also understood to be frustrated over a lack of clarity over what their cut from any commercial deals done by the FA linked to the Lionesses will be, as well as the restrictions around their personal sponsorships.

Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Molango, speaking at an event to mark the Professional Players Federation’s Female Athlete Week this week, said: “We are seeing now, with many countries who are going to the World Cup, players being prepared to stand their ground when they don’t think they are being listened to.

“Issues like this really highlight for players the value of the kind of collective bargaining agreements that countries like the USA have in place in their sports, which strong player unions and associations are crucial to achieving.”

The FA has been approached for comment.

Discrimination in cricket was highlighted in a damning independent report published last week, which said sexism and misogyny towards women in the sport was “routine”.

Crucially, it called for average pay to be equalised in the domestic game by 2029 and by 2030 at international level.

Rob Lynch, chief executive of the Professional Cricketers’ Association, said at the same PPF event: “Whilst we must have that collaborative relationship (with the England and Wales Cricket Board), by virtue of the fact that they are the governing body and we represent the players, we are going to have issues and will need to have robust conversations.

“For the PCA, the collective voice is so key. When we have an issue, we need to go back to the players, explain it to them and ask them to stay tight.

“Fundamentally, keeping our players closely aligned on key topics allows us to represent their interests in the strongest way.”

The Premier League and the Professional Footballers’ Association have signed off on a new five-year partnership agreement starting next season which is understood to be worth around £125million.

The bodies agreed a one-year deal last summer for the 2022-23 campaign which was worth £24.94m, an increase of £1.9m on the annual value of the previous three-year deal which ran from 2019 to 2022.

The new deal is understood to be broadly similar to the one-year agreement covering the current Premier League season.

Both sides were keen to seal a longer-term agreement on funding which was why an interim deal was put in place last year. Some of the money under the agreement will be put towards projects the Premier League and the PFA co-fund and some of it will be spent at the discretion of the PFA.

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters said: “We are delighted to renew our partnership with the PFA and extend our long-term commitment of support for a further five years.

“The PFA carries out vital work to support players in the Premier League and throughout the game. We share the ambition of ensuring that they have the support they need to successfully navigate the highs and lows of professional football and are prepared for life after their playing career.

“We look forward to our continued work with the PFA on player welfare, as well as a range of other important programmes within communities and those which help improve diversity among coaches.”

His PFA counterpart Maheta Molango said: “This new long-term agreement recognises the crucial role the PFA continues to perform as the players’ union.

“The new deal will support the wide range of services that the PFA provides to its members. It will also ensure the continuation of the successful projects across the game that are co-funded by the Premier League and the PFA.

“The length of this new agreement reflects the positive and collaborative relationship that has been established between the Premier League and the PFA. It ensures that we will be able to work as partners on shared priorities.

“Crucially, it also means that when there are issues that do need to be addressed on behalf of players, we will work constructively to achieve solutions.”

The partnership will help to support programmes such as the Professional Player to Coach Scheme, which aims to increase the number of black, Asian and mixed heritage players who transition into full-time coaching roles in the professional game.

As well as campaigning and lobbying on behalf of its members, the union works to support former players and their families after a dementia diagnosis, supports current and former players experiencing mental health and well-being issues and offers advice and support to young players after their release from the academy system.

The union also supports players reaching the end of their professional playing careers by providing counselling where needed, education and training services.

It also represents players’ interests on other matters which directly affect them, such as cost control measures across the domestic and European game and how player data is used.