London: Leading teams have called for the international calendar to be cut by a third under a plan put forward by the European Club Association (ECA).
Speaking after the ECA general assembly, Manchester United chief executive David Gill says clubs want the calendar to be cut when the current agreement expires after the 2014 World Cup.
Gill told reporters: "We want meaningful games so that you get the correct qualification, and in an ideal world we would like a reduction to six double dates over two years, which is a reduction but gives a balance between the national team and what the clubs want."
The current cycle leading up to Euro 2012 allows for seven double headers and five friendly dates, plus pre-tournament warm-up matches and tournament fixtures.
The ECA also want less friendlies matches, but this could affect the English game as these are crucial to the Wembley business plan, with broadcast income and match day revenue helping service interest payments of around £20 million a year.
The FA are more considerate of club concerns than some associations and do not use all available dates which could be used for friendly internationals.
However, the changes would still have a significant impact on revenue for national associations around the world, and could impact on the amount of money that goes to the grassroots.
But Bayern Munich's chief executive officer Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has rejected this argument.
Rummenigge said: "Many friendly dates are added just for cash and for no other reason. We have to come back in favour of quality not quantity, and sometimes less money is more.
"We respect that there are qualifiers and final tournaments but we do not accept that we still have nonsense dates."
The ECA are also demanding an immediate increase in the amount of compensation paid at international tournaments and they want Uefa and Fifa to give better insurance options on their players.
Rummenigge has had difficult run-ins with Fifa president Sepp Blatter and Uefa president Michel Platini in the past, but he is hoping to resolve this problem.
He continued: “I had two meetings with both presidents and I received clear signs from both that they recognise our requests.
"I think with the goodwill of both presidents we can achieve a fair and good result."
Following the recent corruption storm at Fifa, Rummenigge has asked for more transparency to help the top European clubs.
"Everyone believes it is time governing bodies recognise the interests of clubs in the decision-making process," he added.
"Usually we don’t know how things are decided [at Fifa] and have to read about rule changes in the newspapers. Transparency has to be tackled. We have come to a point where the damage to football’s image of the corruption rumours has to stop."
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