AGI – I players are facing an increasingly tight schedule of matches during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some of them play up to 82% of their games having less than the recommended five days of rest.
This is what emerges from a research by Fifpro and Kpmg Football Benchmark. The ‘Player workload & recovery during the emergency calendar’ report provides a mid-season scientific analysis of player workload and match schedule. The report features a representative group of 265 footballers from 43 national leagues across six confederations globally and includes both club and national selections matches.
The data in the report comes from the digital Player Workload Monitoring (PWM) platform that was launched today. The platform provides data collected by the representative sample of players on their playing time, their recovery periods and information on travel due to international matches.
The report reveals that during the emergency period, between May 1, 2020 and January 31, 2021, i players who compete primarily in domestic competitions have seen their average number of appearances on the pitch rise by up to 42% having less than five days of recovery: a 10.7% increase compared to before the pandemic.
For those who play regularly in international competitions, the number of games in this critical range, where injuries are generally more frequent, has increased to 52%.
Increase in the number of consecutive games in the critical range
The research report shows that Samir Handanovic, goalkeeper of FC Internazionale Milano, has only played 18% of the games with at least five days of recovery. SS Lazio’s Francesco Acerbi and Manchester United FC’s Harry Maguire played 80% and 73% of games in the same critical bracket respectively. Franck Kessie ‘, of AC Milan, Paul Pogba, of Manchester United FC, and Harry Kane, of Tottenham Hotspur FC, are among the players who have had the most intense workload, with an average rest time of just four days . In Africa, Ali Maâloul (Al-Ahly, Egypt) played 64% of the games with less than five days of injury time.
In the Americas, Johan Venegas (Deportivo Saprissa, Costa Rica) and German Cano (Vasco da Gama, Brazil) participated in 62% of matches in this critical injury zone. In Asia, for Tomoaki Makino (Urawa Red Diamonds, Japan) the percentage of such matches was 53%.
Disappearance of off-season breaks and redevelopment
The tighter intervals between competitions put the players under pressure. 23% of players had less than two weeks between seasons. Niklas Süle (Bayern Munich) and Kylian Mbappé (Paris Saint-Germain) have respectively had 11 and 13 days off between the end-of-season UEFA Champions League and a new round of matches in the UEFA National League. Al-Ahly players in Egypt had an eight-day break between the AFC Champions League finals and the start of their national season.
Due to the exceptional mismatches in competition formats and calendar overlaps, the current structure creates a continuous cycle of competitions that deprives players of sufficient rest and recovery until the 2022 FIFA World Cup. “This report is the latest serious warning that player health is being put at risk by match density.
“The frequency of consecutive matches – says Jonas Baer-Hoffmann, FIFPRO general secretary – without adequate recovery time between one and the other, was already a problem before the pandemic. During the Covid-19 emergency period this problem arose. it is extended and intensified throughout men’s football.
“The lack of seasonal interruptions due to overlapping match schedules and the next overtime period that will extend into the 2022 Winter World Cup are a very worrying prospect,” he adds.
“It is necessary – continues the secretary general – to act now. The problem will not be solved if we wait for the post-2024 international match calendar to deal with it, when the interests of all competition organizers collide. “
“We need immediate measures that protect players by ensuring minimum off-season breaks, extended minimum rest periods between games, substitution rules and more. We must then study a radical revision of the calendar starting in 2024, which will make protection health and quality of performance are a top priority ”, he concludes.
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