( CNN ) -- Football clubs and national federations have long been at loggerheads over the balance between domestic and international matches , but Europe 's top teams heralded a `` major breakthrough '' on Tuesday . Europe 's top soccer clubs and the continent 's governing body , UEFA , have announced an agreement which would reduce the amount of international fixtures . The European Club Association ( ECA ) confirmed UEFA had pledged to amend its football calendar to include nine two-match international breaks over a two-year period rather than the current 12 . The agreement would also spell the end of single-match international breaks , such as this week 's set of fixtures which features high-profile friendly matches like England 's clash with the Netherlands and Germany 's home match against France . `` The agreement with UEFA is a major breakthrough for European club football , '' Karl-Heinz Rummenigge , ECA Chairman and CEO of German giants Bayern Munich , said in a statement . `` UEFA clearly recognizes the importance of clubs and the significant contribution they make to the success of national team football . The negotiations have not always proved easy , but were always conducted in a fair and respectful manner . `` This is once more proof that in the European football family solutions can be found in a cooperative and fair way . '' Despite UEFA and the ECA finding common ground , the agreement must still be ratified by football 's global governing body , FIFA . Rummenigge , a two-time European Footballer of the Year , said talks with FIFA president Sepp Blatter have so far proved unsuccessful . `` While an agreement has been reached with UEFA , the situation remains unsatisfactory in relation to FIFA , '' he said . `` Unfortunately , discussions with the FIFA president have failed to lead to a satisfactory outcome which takes account of the clubs ' demands . '' The German 's comments prompted a response from FIFA , who claimed the issue of the international calendar was up for debate at a meeting on March 5 . Football 's global governing body also said Rummenigge and other ECA representatives had declined invitations to be part of the discussions . `` FIFA is surprised by recent comments made by ECA stating that they are not satisfied with their discussions , '' read a statement on FIFA 's website . `` ECA representatives have previously declined attendance to other FIFA committee meetings , making it very difficult for progress to be made in discussions with the European clubs . `` FIFA remains , as always , willing to discuss with ECA on these topics , as it does with all other stakeholders in the world football community . `` Finally , FIFA would like to recall that the international dates and the international match calendar have to be applied on a worldwide basis and that this calendar is ultimately regulated by FIFA , as football 's world governing body . '' The agreement would also see UEFA take out insurance aimed at covering players who are injured while on international duty . The insurance would be in place from the forthcoming Euro 2012 tournament in Poland and Ukraine onwards . If the new rules are put into place , there would be a limit on only one international tournament each year . It also states that the African Cup of Nations must start as early in January as possible in years when it is being held , while other international tournaments must be finished by mid-July .
UEFA and Europe 's top football clubs agree to reduce number of international matches . Agreement would see number of international breaks decrease over a two - year period . UEFA would also give out insurance to cover injuries while on international duty . The agreement between UEFA and the clubs needs to be ratified by FIFA .