Footballer insurance needed

Football club trade body the European Club Association (ECA) has demanded international bodies UEFA and FIFA set up an insurance scheme to cover players injured playing for their national sides.

The 197 Clubs in ECA reckon injured players cost them much more than they get in compensation for players winning caps in their country’s colours.

The ECA said it had been urged “to take a strong position regarding the issues related to both the international calendar and the players' injuries with the national team”.

It unanimously demanded:

• direct involvement in the drawing up the international calendar
• a formal consultation process between clubs and national teams regarding the physical conditions and injuries sustained while playing national team matches
• the introduction of an insurance policy for all national team matches necessary.

ECA Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said: "Everyone is so busy in securing additional dates for this or that competition and we forget that the players are often the same and they are stretched to the limit increasing the risk of injuries.

“A harmonised calendar and a clear insurance policy will be one of our main goals and this could help further to harmonize the relationship between club football and national team football."

Representatives from 151 member clubs attended the ECA’s two-day General Assembly in Geneva.