FIFPro cautions that football is facing a 'emergency' due to player weariness.

FIFA has warned players that if nothing is done to alleviate the mounting strain on their workload, they will "take matters into their own hands," with players' union FIFPro indicating that strike action is not out of the question.

In the midst of an increasingly congested fixture calendar, FIFPro Europe president David Terrier declared "an emergency" due to players' mounting mental and physical exhaustion.

Terrier advocated for regulations to limit the number of games after the FIFPro player workload and recovery season review revealed some concerning figures.

As part of the investigation, a player poll revealed that more than half of respondents had been forced to play while already injured, and 82% of managers had fielded a player they knew needed to rest.

"We are dealing with one of our sport's most pressing issues, which has arisen as a result of a government failure," Terrier stated at the FIFPro event in London.

"It has caused serious mental and physical weariness. The issue is who listens and who does not. As a union, listening to our members is the most crucial aspect of our work; to listen is to assume responsibility.

"Players speak and communicate with us, and it is very evident that there is an emergency - we are in danger.

"Players have exceeded their limits, and the international schedule is packed to the brim.

"What is the FIFA response? More matches, more competitions, more money - but no certainty for the players."

Players speak and contact with us, and it is quite evident that there is an emergency, and we are in danger.

FIFPro’s Europe president David Terrier

Addressing FIFA, Terrier said that FIFPro would consider polling its members on whether to strike if conditions did not change.

"FIFA does not listen as a group. Their actions affect the entire ecosystem, but they make unilateral judgments, which is a failure of governance that we can no longer allow," he said.

"Only by listening to the players will we be able to create a timetable that works for everyone; only under those conditions will we be able to guarantee things like seasonal breaks and matches played consecutively.

"If FIFA doesn't listen we will take things into our own hands, we won't exclude any kind of possibility whatsoever."

Premier League chief executive Richard Masters, who also serves as the head of the World Leagues Association, spoke on the panel and criticized FIFA.

"The problem is real," he explained. "We are beginning to observe the effects of decisions taken by regional and international organizations. The calendar is becoming less harmonious with each decision that is made.

"There is no faith that anything will change. If you don't feel like you're being heard, you become frustrated. We believe enough is enough; it is a tragedy we have arrived here."

LaLiga chief Javier Tebas went even further in his condemnation of the world governing body.

"We have sent letters and FIFA have ignored us," he said.

"The industry is at risk if we do not take action..."We're destroying football. We now need to take legal action. We cannot wait another day."

The PA news agency has contacted FIFA for a response. Its president, Gianni Infantino, stated at the organization's Congress in Bangkok earlier this month that "FIFA is organising around one percent of the games of the top clubs in the world, 98-99 percent of the matches are organised by the different leagues, associations, and confederations."

FIFPro issued explicit warnings to young players about the growing amount of games they are expected to participate in as their bodies develop.

The example of Real Madrid and England player Jude Bellingham was given. At the same age, he has played more football than David Beckham (3,929) and Wayne Rooney (15,481) combined.

Former Arsenal and Liverpool fitness coach Darren Burgess, who now chairs the FIFPro high performance advice network, addressed the issue.

"When someone is under the age of 21, their tendons have not fully developed; everything continues to grow until they reach their mid-20s. "Demand for young players is enormous and only increasing," he remarked.

"A blackout period in the off-season is a simple solution that should be done automatically - three or four weeks where no tournament can be scheduled."

Burgess also mentioned the mental exhaustion experienced by players, which has a "increasingly negative impact" on players at all levels of the game.

"The mental health of players is at risk if we continue down this path," he stated.

"Players aren't healing well from games or seasons. The forthcoming calendar will compound these concerns.