FIFA says it has reached consensus with several players’ unions on minimum rest standards

FIFA says several players' representative groups and the sport's governing body have reached a consensus on the need for a period of rest of 72 hours between matches, and agreed that players should have a minimum of 21 days of holidays at the end of each season.

It was unclear, though, whether the consensus would lead to a binding agreement since FIFPRO, the sport’s global players' union, did not take part in the discussions.

FIFA did not immediately say which groups attended the talks on the eve of Sunday's Club World Cup final between PSG and Chelsea, mentioning “representatives of several player unions from around the world.”

The tournament was held during the European offseason and has faced criticism from unions, as an increased focus on player welfare has been leading to calls for mandatory rest periods and a greater emphasis on player safety during matches.

Days before the start of the month-long Club World Cup, soccer chiefs faced renewed calls to safeguard players over growing fears of injuries and burnout. Last month, France’s union of professional soccer players launched a scathing attack on the competition, saying it is “urgent to stop this massacre” amid ongoing concerns about extreme player workloads.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino and other officials from soccer's governing body met with representatives of players' unions from around the world in New York. FIFA hailed the discussions as “progressive,” adding that players' health is a “top priority.”

“There is a consensus that there must be at least 72 hours of rest between matches, and that players should have a rest period / holiday of at least 21 days at the end of each season,” FIFA said. “This period should be managed individually by each club and the respective players also depending on their match calendars and taking into account applicable collective agreements.”

Enforcing a 72-hour period strictly could mean big adjustments to some game schedules and TV deals. FIFA didn’t indicate how it would work in practice. European teams playing in the Europa League late Thursday evening routinely play domestic league games on the following Sunday. With a strict 72-hour break, they might have to wait until Monday to play again.

That would be a major headache for the German Bundesliga. It abolished Monday evening games in 2021 after years of protests by fans who wanted easier-to-attend weekend kickoffs. When it introduced the unpopular Monday kickoffs four season earlier, the German league argued it would mean more rest for Europa League teams.

The new Bundesliga TV deal starting next season doesn’t include any Monday games, either.

FIFA added that a rest day per week should also be allowed and that travel demands as well as climate conditions will also factor into future competition planning.

The Club World Cup involving 32 of the world’s top teams has faced pushback since FIFA announced it would be added to an already saturated calendar. The tournament should be played every four years, sandwiched in between the men’s World Cup, European Championship and Copa America. It went ahead against the backdrop of legal challenges in Europe, strike threats and repeated concerns over players’ mental and physical welfare due to too many games.

James Ellingworth in Düsseldorf, Germany, contributed to this story.

From left, Real Madrid's Federico Valverde, Dani Carvajal, Thibaut Courtois and Aurelien Tchouameni react after a goal by Paris Saint-Germain during the second half of a Club World Cup semifinal soccer match in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

Paris Saint-Germain's Bradley Barcola (29) makes a pass to the front of the net past Real Madrid's Andriy Lunin (13) during the Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between PSG and Real Madrid in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

FILE - FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks to the media at a welcoming event for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup soccer tournament, April 10, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola, file)

Real Madrid's Dani Carvajal (2) and Lucas Vazquez (17) compete against Paris Saint-Germain's Lee Kang-in (19) for control of the ball during the Club World Cup semifinal soccer match between PSG and Real Madrid in East Rutherford, N.J., Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said he’s dropping — for now — his push to deploy National Guard troops in Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon, a move that comes after legal roadblocks held up the effort.

“We will come back, perhaps in a much different and stronger form, when crime begins to soar again - Only a question of time!" he said in a social media post Wednesday.

Governors typically control states' National Guardsmen, and Trump had deployed troops to all three cities against the wishes of state and local Democratic leaders. He said it was necessary as part of a broader crackdown on immigration, crime and protests.

The president has made a crackdown on crime in cities a centerpiece of his second term — and has toyed with the idea of invoking the Insurrection Act to stop his opponents from using the courts to block his plans. He has said he sees his tough-on-crime approach as a winning political issue ahead of next year’s midterm elections.

Troops had already left Los Angeles after the president deployed them earlier this year as part of a broader crackdown on crime and immigration.

In his post, Trump said the troops' presence was responsible for a drop in crime in the three cities, though they were never on the streets in Chicago and Portland as legal challenges played out. When the Chicago deployment was challenged in court, a Justice Department lawyer said the Guard’s mission would be to protect federal properties and government agents in the field, not “solving all of crime in Chicago.”

Portland Mayor Keith Wilson’s office in a statement said the city’s reduction in crime was due to the efforts of local police and public safety programs. Chicago officials echoed the sentiment, saying in a release Tuesday that the city had 416 homicides in 2025 — the fewest since 2014.

Trump’s push to deploy the troops in Democrat-led cities has been met with legal challenges at nearly every turn.

The Supreme Court in December refused to allow the Trump administration to deploy National Guard troops in the Chicago area. The order was not a final ruling but was a significant and rare setback by the high court for the president’s efforts.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote on X Wednesday that Trump “lost in court when Illinois stood up against his attempt to militarize American cities with the National Guard. Now Trump is forced to stand down.”

Hundreds of troops from California and Oregon were deployed to Portland, but a federal judge barred them from going on the streets. A judge permanently blocked the deployment of National Guard troops there in November after a three-day trial.

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement Wednesday that her office had not yet received “official notification that the remaining federalized Oregon National Guard troops can return home. They were never lawfully deployed to Portland and there was no need for their presence. If President Trump has finally chosen to follow court orders and demobilize our troops, that’s a big win for Oregonians and for the rule of law.”

Trump's decision to federalize National Guard troops began in Los Angeles in June, when protesters took to the streets in response to a blitz of immigration arrests in the area. He deployed about 4,000 troops and 700 Marines to guard federal buildings and, later, to protest federal agents as they carried out immigration arrests.

The number of troops slowly dwindled until just several hundred were left. They were removed from the streets by Dec. 15 after a lower court ruling that also ordered control to be returned to Gov. Gavin Newsom. But an appeals court had paused the second part of the order, meaning control remained with Trump. In a Tuesday court filing, the Trump administration said it was no longer seeking a pause in that part of the order.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Wednesday ordered the Trump administration to return control of the National Guard to Newsom.

“About time (Trump) admitted defeat,” Newsom said in a social media post. “We’ve said it from day one: the federal takeover of California’s National Guard is illegal.”

Troops will remain on the ground in several other cities. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in December paused a lower court ruling that had called for an end to the deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., where they’ve been deployed since August after Trump declared a “crime emergency.”

Trump also ordered the deployment of the Tennessee National Guard to Memphis in September as part of a larger federal task force to combat crime, a move supported by the state’s Republican Gov. Bill Lee and senators. A Tennessee judge blocked the use of the Guard, siding with Democratic state and local officials who sued. However, the judge stayed the decision to block the Guard as the state appeals, allowing the deployment to continue.

In New Orleans, about 350 National Guard troops deployed by Trump arrived in the city's historic French Quarter on Tuesday and are set to stay through Mardi Gras to help with safety. The state's Republican governor and the city's Democratic mayor support the deployment.

Ding reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporters John O'Connor in Springfield, Illinois, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, Jack Brook in New Orleans and Adrian Sanz in Memphis contributed.

FILE - A protester confronts a line of U.S. National Guard members in the Metropolitan Detention Center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer, File)

FILE - Protesters stand off against California National Guard soldiers at the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, during a "No Kings" protest, June 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)

President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago, Monday, Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)