International Breaks in Football: Why They Exist, Why FIFA Merged Two of Them and Who Pays for Player Injuries

Club football has been on hiatus since the weekend of 18 to 20 September and does not return until the weekend of 9 to 11 October. International breaks remain one of the most controversial topics in football, especially for club football supporters. This post breaks down why they exist, why FIFA merged two of them this year, and who is held responsible when a player picks up an injury on national duty.

Why Do International Breaks Exist?

International football is older than most club football competitions in existence today, with FIFA’s museum recording the first official international, Scotland against England, on 30 November 1872 in Glasgow. The trouble started once national team fixtures multiplied, because clubs were responsible for paying the wages of their players and wanted to know exactly when they would lose their players. FIFA responded in 2002 by creating the official International Match Calendar so clubs could plan ahead, which is why international breaks now follow fixed dates.

Inside those windows, clubs are generally obligated to release any player a national team calls up¹, and outside them they are free to say no. Players must also report to camp unless they are injured or unfit, while clubs that ignore the release rules risk fines and, if they keep at it, potential transfer ban. Leagues pause because they would otherwise lose too many key players.

It is one of those football norms that looks obvious until you ask who decided it, the same applies to our previous post on Why Football Matches Last 90 Minutes.

Why FIFA Merged the September and October International Breaks

Until this season, there were separate breaks in September and October, each with two matches per country. This year they became one 16-day window, running from 21 September to 6 October, with four matches per country. FIFA’s Council approved the change unanimously in 2023, mainly to cut travel, since many European-based players represent countries in Africa and South America and a single window means fewer long-haul flights. It also reduces the breaks between the start of the season and the end of the year from three to two.

The World Cup strengthened the case because the 48-team tournament ran for six weeks, and FIFA wanted players to have more time to recover and settle back at their clubs as well.

Not everyone thinks FIFA went far enough. Arsène Wenger, FIFA’s chief of global football development, had floated an even bolder idea of a single month-long break in October², and critics warn that an injury in a window that long could keep a player out of international football for months. Clubs feel the cost too, since their players disappear for a long stretch.

Who Pays When a Player Is Injured on International Duty?

Your club keeps paying the wages, because a player’s contract does not pause when he gets hurt in his country’s shirt. FIFA’s Club Protection Programme softens the blow by compensating the club, not the player.

To qualify, the injury must come from an accident during official national team duty and keep the player out for more than 28 consecutive days, and the payment follows his fixed salary only, so bonuses do not count. FIFA caps it at €20,548 a day for a maximum of 365 days ³, which works out at roughly 7.5 million euros across a full year and lines up with the per-accident ceiling. However, Illness, permanent injury, death and medical treatment costs sit outside the scheme.

The scheme began as cover for UEFA Euro 2012, and FIFA Congress expanded it that same year to all men’s and women’s A-team matches on the international calendar. All four matches during the merged international break in the new window fall under the cover, as far as the rules read.

So when the next international break tests your patience, remember everything behind it: FIFA set the dates so clubs can plan, merged two windows to cut travel and fatigue, and built a scheme so clubs do not carry every injury alone. Whether that balance is fair or not is an ongoing debate with no end in sight.

Moriselade Soladoye-Adewole
September 29, 2026

Pitch Project (Ilaji 2026)