By Joel Lushington
The physical demand in the modern game is more than ever and players such as Rodri are stating the amount of games per season is far too much. The premier league alone covers 1,425 minutes of football. When you combine this with Nations league, National Qu1`1alifiers, cup games and European fixtures, it is an absurd amount of football – 60 to 70 games a season for top professionals.
Players have recently been venting their frustrations with the fixture list and the strain it is putting on professional players. The extremely busy fixture schedule has been a big problem in modern football for a while now but it only seems to be getting worse and pros are now fighting back.
Games are being crammed in with players travelling all over the World to do so, all to entertain the fans. It is often argued that the money footballers get makes it worth it but with this year’s January fixture list being jam packed with a lot of Premier League footballers only getting 3 or 4 days off during the holiday period, should more be done to protect players?
The consensus is that if the organisations in charge of fixtures dont make a change, it will be up to footballers themselves to take the stand.
It leads to countless injuries, exposing players to tears and strains due to fatigue and studies have shown that the most injuries happen during congested fixture periods. If Professionals are playing every few days, you don’t achieve optimal recovery and an individual’s body cannot adapt to the physical demand of subsequent games, therefore causing reduced flexibility and joint problems or pains.
One of the biggest issues with the increasing physical demand and the effect it has on players is heart problems. We saw what happened with Denmark midfielder Christian Eriksen in the 2020 Euros. Aged just 29, he suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch. He’s not the first and certainly won’t be the last, with the same happening in March 2012 to Fabrice Muamba in an FA cup game, who’s heart stopped for an estimated 78 minutes.
It’s been established that the leading cause of death in footballers is heart problems. Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero also announced his retirement in 2021 after also being diagnosed with heart problems.
These are just to name a few but how does the over populated fixture list cause this? Studies have shown that Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, or HCM, is an inherited condition where the heart muscle walls develop too thick and this added muscle can affect the hearts electrical system, leading to irregular or faster beats, thus leading to possible death or in most cases a cardiac arrest.
It only seems to be getting worse, as more competitions are being added to the game and often these competitions are played abroad, it all means less resting and recovery time for players.
FIFA has also announced in the last few months they are considering a policy change to allow domestic matches to be played abroad. FIFA reportedly reached a settlement with Relevent Sports, a US promoter to discuss the flexibility of having games played there. Whilst FIFA will suggest it increases inclusivity so everyone can watch, most are aware it is a money driven move that will stop British fans from being able to watch live. Whilst it is only set to be one game once the policy is changed, who’s to say it won’t become a common, money driven, circumstance.
The suggestion of this alone shows the lack of consideration and respect for the footballers, with all the extra travelling and possibly even extra games, it will only make the growing problem worse and the move from FIFA is a credit to their lack of care for players’ welfare.
Manchester City midfielder Rodri Hernandez spoke ahead of his game against Inter Milan in the Champions League last week about the busy fixture schedule and how players are considering going on strike due to the lack of breaks between games.
The 2024 Euros winner said in a recent interview: “From my experience 60 to 70 games is too much. 40 to 50 is a fair amount to play at this level”. Most footballers spend an estimated 70-80% of their playing time in a double game week, whilst likely training 3 or 4 times a week also.
Many people believe that there has been a decrease in quality within the Premier League and the fixture list could be attributing to this. Rodri said:
“It is impossible to sustain the physical level with this amount of games. Not everything is to do with money, it should be about the quality of the performances.”
A lack of break for players leads to fatigue which often leads to a decrease in performance and we are now hearing this from the professionals themselves, that because they are not resting enough they are not playing to their full ability.
There is a large consensus that money is being prioritised over the welfare of the players and Rodri believes players are victims of the greediness of organisations, such as FIFA:
“In my opinion it’s too much, we have to take care of ourselves as we are the main characters of this sport. We as players perform better when we are well rested and I don’t think we are being given that”.
The quality of football is often the best at the start of the season and the busy schedule could be causing this. If players aren’t considered with the fixture list and some professionals such as Rodri have even suggested a strike.
He said: “We are close to going on strike. If you ask most players they will say the same. If it keeps this way we will have no other option”.
The Ballon D’or favourite has suffered cruciate ligament damage in his right knee on Sunday just days after making his statement on the fixture list and how it is damaging players physical welfare. He could now be out for the rest of the season and the physical demand on him as a player has caused this.
The players are the most important factor in football and if they aren’t considered more in terms of their physical and mental wellbeing, more injuries will occur and more heart related incidents will occur.
The war on the fixture list has been ongoing for years now but not enough is being done, as more competitions are being added and even suggestions of moving games abroad being had, will it take the players to refuse playing for change to be made?
