The FIFPRO ruling that will have major impact on Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham pre-season plans

The Euro 2024 and the Copa America tournaments are reaching the business end of their competitions now. Both international tournaments are down to the last eight stage, with the quarter-finals due to take place this weekend.

Both tournaments will reach their conclusions the following weekend, a little over a month before the new 2024/25 Premier League season is due to begin. A number of players have obviously already returned home, with their countries being knocked out; but for the rest, Premier League clubs will have to wait to see some of their biggest stars again.

For Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham there are still a large amount of players out at the two tournaments. So what does that mean for Mikel Arteta, Enzo Maresca and Ange Postecoglou's pre-season plans?

All three clubs will be going out on tour before the new Premier League season begins, with Arsenal and Chelsea both heading to the United States of America, and Spurs jetting out to Japan and South Korea. All three tours begin at the end of July, around a week or so after both Euro 2024 and Copa America come to a close.

That is not much rest time for those who make it all the way to the finals of those tournaments. So could we see players missing the pre-season tours?

The short answer is yes. In international football summers it has been known that some players would forego the start of a pre-season tour because of their commitments with the national teams. And also because they want - and need - a rest.

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Football seasons seem to be getting longer and longer and with an expanded Club World Cup competition taking place at the end of the 2024/25 season, it is going to be extended even further.

Players' union FIFPRO started legal action against FIFA last month over the Club World Cup tournament. In a statement they said: "FIFPRO Europe member unions have today submitted a legal claim against FIFA, challenging the legality of FIFA's decisions to unilaterally set the International Match Calendar (IMC) and, in particular, the decision to create and schedule the FIFA Club World Cup 2025."

So are there any rules around when players can and cannot play? FIFPRO have guidelines on there being an off-season break for all footballers. Their guidance describes an off-season break as: "The period given to players between two seasons, without training or matches, in order to recover and regenerate. Off-season breaks are mandatory, should last at least 28 days (combination of physically inactive and active weeks) and must take place outside the club and national team environment."

Twenty-eight days is four weeks. Four weeks after the end of the Copa America and Euro 2024 would take us to August 11 - five days before the start of the Premier League season.

Now many players at Euro 2024 and Copa America will have had a break after the end of the domestic season before heading off to compete for their countries. that could have been two weeks before joining up with their compatriots.

That would leave another two weeks needed for a break in the calendar, which could come straight after the international tournaments end and would see many join their pre-season tours midway through.

Players can, obviously, decide to cut short their break if they want to and some have chosen to do so in the past, in order to get back up to speed quickly with their club mates.