Miguel ÃÂngel Gil MarÃÂn has put a concrete proposal to UEFA aimed at easing footballâÂÂs overloaded calendar: capping the number of Liga matches an individual player can be available for across a 38-game season. Atlético de MadridâÂÂs CEO outlined the idea at the World Football Summit, held before the Metropolitano hosted AtléticoâÂÂs match against Osasuna.
Gil MarÃÂnâÂÂs proposed Liga limit
Gil MarÃÂn shared the panel with Javier Gómez, LaLigaâÂÂs corporate general director, and Maheta Molango, president of the English playersâ union. Speaking as a member of UEFAâÂÂs Executive Committee representing European clubs, he said he regularly puts forward the same idea in that forum.
As Mundo Deportivo report, the mechanism would work by having a coach told that, out of the 38 Liga fixtures, a given player is only available for 31 or 32, leaving the club to manage the rest of the squad accordingly. It is a specific, individual-availability cap rather than a reduction in the total number of fixtures a club plays across the season.
| Element | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Liga matches | 38 |
| Proposed player availability | 31 or 32 matches |
| Forum | World Football Summit, alongside LaLiga and English playersâ union representatives |
| Gil MarÃÂnâÂÂs UEFA role | Executive Committee member representing European clubs |
Why the calendar debate matters
Gil MarÃÂn framed fixture volume as one of modern footballâÂÂs central problems, tying it to a broader shift in how the game is run. He argued that football has become fully professionalised after an earlier era of amateur management, crediting LaLigaâÂÂs regulatory framework with driving the sectorâÂÂs growth â growth that has taken Atlético past â¬500 million in revenue and through 14 consecutive Champions League group-stage qualifications under Diego Simeone.
Gil MarÃÂnâÂÂs case for balance
Explaining his rationale, Gil MarÃÂn pointed to the financial incentives driving UEFA and FIFA to keep adding fixtures, while insisting that equilibrium is needed, particularly for the biggest clubs.
âÂÂUEFA y FIFA quieren más partidos porque da más dinero y más poder, y el poder te consolida y te garantiza la perpetuidad. Debemos buscar un punto de equilibrio que es esencial, sobre todo, para los clubes grandesâÂÂ, explicó el directivo colchonero.
Whether UEFA moves toward adopting anything resembling Gil MarÃÂnâÂÂs individual-availability cap remains an open question, but his repeated advocacy for it inside the Executive Committee signals that calendar reform will keep surfacing in club-versus-governing-body discussions.
