FIFA needs to take care of the players when it plans the next international match calendar, the head of a key committee at soccer's governing body told Reuters on Thursday.
Victor Montagliani said that the international calendar and the transfer system were among the priorities for the football stakeholders committee, which brings together representatives of the players, clubs and leagues.
The current match calendar runs until 2024 and allows for around eight to 10 international matches per year in addition to major tournaments such as the World Cup, European championship and Copa America.
Top players can easily play 60 to 70 matches in a season for their clubs and national teams.
"It's a pretty busy match calendar, so we need to take care of the players, all of us, because at the end of the day, that's what we're all here for," said Montagliani, who is also president of CONCACAF.
"The FIFA staff have started collecting data in terms of people's opinions... they have started to talk to coaches, they have talked to players, they have talked to all the stakeholders."
The new committee, which met for the first time on Thursday, was set up after soccer's governing body FIFA was engulfed by a series of corruption scandals.
Its members include former international players Cafu and Edwin van der Sar, AS Roma chief executive Umberto Gandini, Bundesliga CEO Christian Seifert and Philippe Piat, head of the world players' union FIFPro.
The committee's role includes advising the FIFA Council on "all matters relating to football, particularly the structure of the game, as well as on all technical matters."
La Liga chief says kickoff times being changed to suit Asian audiences
Spain's top division has intentionally changed some kickoff times to suit audiences in Asia in a bid to increase its market share in the continent, La Liga president Javier Tebas said on Thursday at the opening of a new office in Singapore.
The most important games in Spanish soccer have traditionally taken place at night, which is prime time for Spanish television although the league has in recent years scheduled fixtures to attract a global audience.
The league opened up a new fixture slot at 1300 CET on Saturdays at the start of this season, jettisoning matches at 2200.
The 'Clasico' between Spain's biggest clubs Real Madrid and Barcelona in December kicked off at 1615 CET, 2315 in Singapore while the Madrid derby between Real and Atletico Madrid on April 8 will take place at the same time.
Many games involving the biggest clubs are still played at night, however, with the return fixture between Real and Barca on April 23 kicking off at 2045 CET, 0345 in Singapore.
Tebas indicated more games could be kicking off earlier in future seasons as the number of Spanish soccer fans in Asia increases.
"We have changed kickoff schedules so that they can be seen at reasonable times here in Asia and we will continue to take steps to ensure that this part of the world can enjoy La Liga as much as possible," Tebas said.
"For us, Singapore will be the gateway to East Asia and a platform from which to reach a far greater number of fans."
The Singapore office is La Liga's fourth to open in Asia, adding to branches in Dubai, China and India.
Barca open memorial space for late president Montal
Barcelona have announced they will open up a memorial space at the Nou Camp stadium on Friday for supporters to pay their respects to former club president Agusti Montal, who died on Wednesday aged 82.
Montal, Barca president between 1969 and 1977, has been praised since his passing for signing Johan Cruyff from Ajax and re-establishing the club's Catalan identity during and after the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
He was instrumental in persuading the Spanish soccer federation to remove a ban on signing foreign players, which paved the way for the arrival of Dutch playmaker Cruyff in 1973.
Cruyff, who died of lung cancer last year, inspired Barca to a first league title in 14 years in his first campaign and is seen by many as the godfather of the modern Barcelona, coaching the club to their first ever European Cup in 1992 and instilling a style of football imitated by future managers.
Montal also promoted the Catalan language, which under Franco was banned in public spaces.
The club said in a statement he had printed membership cards and a newsletter in Catalan and was called to order by the authorities for making stadium announcements in the regional language.
Tottenham get green light to fill Wembley for home matches
Tottenham Hotspur have been given approval to play the majority of their home matches next season in front of a capacity crowd at Wembley if they take up an option to play at the stadium, British media reported on Thursday.
Brent Council's planning committee passed the Premier League club's application to use the full capacity at Wembley by a majority of 5-1, meaning Spurs can fill up to 90,000 seats for at least 27 matches next season.
Tottenham have until March 31 to decide whether to play at the national stadium or stay at White Hart Lane for next season. The FA had already approved the club's use of the stadium.
The north London club are assessing if their new 800 million pounds ($1.00 billion) stadium, being built adjacent to their existing ground, will be ready to move into for 2018-19. If not, they could delay the temporary move to Wembley until that season.