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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Max Rushden

Club World Cup didn’t start the fire – it didn’t light it but we’ll try to fight it

An illustration of a conveyor belt of footballers tumbling in front of a TV while a viewer looks on
Will football ever reach breaking point? Unless players strike it will carry on down the same path. Illustration: Nathan Daniels

Does it feel too much? Premier League bleeding into the playoffs into the Champions League into the international break … we’re still bleeding … rip off your shirt and make a tourniquet! The European Under-21 and Under‑19 Championships into the Club World Cup, overlapping with the Women’s Euros … oh look the Premier League fixtures for 2025-26 are out and the EFL ones come out next week … and there’s David Prutton paying (excellent) homage to David Mitchell’s pisstake of Sky Sports on Sky Sports: “Catch all of the constantly happening football here it’s all here and it’s all football. Always. It’s impossible to keep track of all the football.”

You start to imagine Billy Joel rewriting We Didn’t Start the Fire … an endless list of footballers and pundits, of owners and streaming services, of controversies and grimness amid the beauty and joy. Will it ever reach breaking point?

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