MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Chelsea has seen a 44% spike in injuries after competing in the supersized Club World Cup this year, according to findings published on Tuesday.
But the newly expanded tournament has so far had a “minimal impact” on injuries overall, the latest edition of the Men’s European Football Injury Index found.
There was fierce opposition to FIFA's new flagship club event when it was confirmed in 2023 that it would increase from seven to 32 teams, with players' unions warning of physical and mental burnout of players due to an ever expanding match schedule. But FIFA pressed ahead and staged the tournament in the United States in June-July.
Chelsea went on to win the inaugural competition, receiving the trophy from U.S. President Donald Trump at MetLife Stadium and taking home prize money of around $125 million. But, according to the Index, from June-October, Chelsea picked up more injuries — 23 — than any of the nine clubs from Europe's top leagues that participated in the Club World Cup.
They included star player Cole Palmer, and was a 44% increase on the same period last year.
The introduction of the expanded Club World Cup came at a time when competitions like the Champions League and World Cup are also increasing in size.
Maheta Molango, chief executive of the English Players Football Association, said players are being pushed to their limits and “exposed to an extreme schedule at a younger and younger age.”
“The current calendar makes no sense for players, fans or clubs,” he said.
While Chelsea, which played 64 games over the entire 2024-25 season, saw an increase in injuries, the Index, produced by global insurance firm Howden, found that overall there was a decrease.
“In principle you would expect this increased workload to lead to an increase in the number of injuries sustained, as a possible rise in overall injury severity,” the Index report said, but added: “The data would suggest a minimal impact on overall injury figures.”
Despite the figures, the authors of the report accept it was too early to assess the full impact of the Club World Cup, with the findings only going up to October.
“We would expect to see the impact to spike in that sort of November to February period,” said James Burrows, Head of Sport at Howden. “What we’ve seen previously is that’s where the impact is seen from summer tournaments."
Manchester City has sustained 22 since the tournament, which is the highest among the nine teams from Europe's top leagues — England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France.
Those teams have recorded 146 injuries from June-October, which is down on the previous year's figure of 174.
From August-October that number is 121, the lowest for that three-month period in the previous six years of the Index.
James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - Chelsea's Reece James, center, lifts the trophy following the Club World Cup final soccer match between Chelsea and PSG at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., Sunday, July 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, file)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — International media organizations have joined Serbian journalists in raising the alarm about worsening press freedoms in the Balkan country, including “record levels” of physical violence, online smear campaigns and death threats against reporters.
The partner organizations of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Safety of Journalists and the Media Freedom Rapid Response groups said in a statement released this week that “the past year had seen a continued deterioration, leaving the country in a prolonged and worsening press freedom crisis.”
The statement warned that “chances of further escalation in the severity of attacks against journalists remain dangerously high."
A delegation visited Serbia on March 26-27, holding meetings with both the media and government representatives.
“The mission came at a time of unprecedented physical attacks on journalists and rampant online smear campaigns, led or amplified by influential members of the ruling party,” the statement said. "The delegation is fearful that journalists are caught in a spiral of violence with few protections in place.”
In response to The Associated Press, the Serbian government's Ministry of Information and Telecommunication said it “condemns any form of violence and attacks on journalists and urges state institutions to react as urgently as possible to identify all the perpetrators who took part in the attacks on journalists.”
The ministry further cited various activities and projects already in place that are aimed at raising awareness and supporting journalists, including a working group, an SOS line and an online platform.
On Wednesday, dozens of Serbian journalists blocked traffic outside the office of Serbia’s populist President Aleksandar Vucic, to protest the latest spate of attacks recorded during violence-marred local elections on Sunday.
The Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia said that 20 reporters were attacked on Sunday, while around 100 attacks have been recorded so far this year.
International election observers at the balloting said they witnessed violence and irregularities. The vote was held in 10 municipalities throughout Serbia. It was seen as a test for Vucic after more than a year of youth-led protests that first erupted after a train station tragedy in Nov. 2024 that killed 16 people.
While he formally seeks EU membership for Serbia, the increasingly authoritarian Vucic and his government have been accused by rights groups of clamping down on democracy, including media freedoms.
International media groups said in their statement that pressure and attacks on media workers surged since the station canopy collapse in Novi Sad and the start of the student-led mass demonstrations. The group cited “alarming levels of impunity” with hardly any of the perpetrators being held accountable.
“Clear political will is needed to break the downward spiral and ensure all attacks on the media are properly sanctioned under the law,” the statement said.
Serbian journalists block the traffic outside the offices of Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in protest of mounting attacks and pressure on the media. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian journalists block the traffic outside the offices of Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in protest of mounting attacks and pressure on the media. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian journalists block the traffic outside the offices of Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic in Belgrade, Serbia, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in protest of mounting attacks and pressure on the media. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
