Footballers under pressure, on and off the field, due to frantic pace

On Wednesday November 20, three researchers from the University of Louvain (Belgium) completed six months of work, publishing a study devoted to the pace imposed on footballers. The report by Lode Godderis and Kelly Mortelmans, specialists in occupational medicine, and Frank Hendrickx, expert in labor law, will be “submitted as evidence” to the complaint against the International Football Federation (FIFA) before the European Commission, for violation of competition law rules and abuse of dominant position.

The authors of this complaint, and in particular Fifpro – the European branch of the global players’ union – believe that calendars are increasingly full, without taking into account the opinion and health of those mainly concerned. “ Professional football fails to meet legal requirements for health and safety standards », denounces the organization, which partly financed the study. Recently, the boat of football stars was increased by a 32-team Club World Cup – the first edition of which will take place between June and July 2025, in the United States – and the new version of the League champions whose group stage was extended from six to eight matches for each team.

If they took part in all possible matches, for club and national team, some players could find themselves playing more than eighty matches per year. Especially since these meetings often require travel, nights away from home and media obligations. “This study has highlighted that the demands placed on a professional football player go far beyond what happens on the pitch. Physical exertion during matches is just one aspect of a much broader picture that includes mental stress, the impact of travel, recovery challenges and many other factors.explain the academics.

36 injuries per 1,000 match hours

“Different factors contribute to sleep desynchronization in football players, including night games, exposure to bright light (…)travel-related fatigue, inconsistent match schedules and individual variability in sleep needs »they add. In the world of football, more and more stars are speaking out to denounce this lifestyle. The Spaniard Rodri was one of the first to make his voice heard on this situation, even raising the possibility of leading a strike if the situation did not change. A few days later, the Manchester City midfielder ruptured his cruciate ligaments during a match, forcing him to recover his Golden Ball on crutches.

“Fundamental worker protections are non-negotiable”recalls Fifpro. Gold, “Football has a higher injury incidence rate than traditional industrial professions: 36 injuries per 1,000 match hours and 3.7 injuries per 1,000 training hours”points out the study. In particular, “the increasingly intense nature of the game”, “an increasing number of matches” et “shorter recovery periods”.

From the first point of their results, the researchers remind that “The International Olympic Committee recommends that football matches be spaced at least 96 hours apart to protect players from injury and ensure sufficient recovery”. Less than two matches per week therefore, a road map practically never respected during the weeks of the Champions League, where the midweek European games are framed by the weekend championship matches. Not to mention “Boxing Day”, this end-of-year period during which meetings follow one another at a frantic pace in England.

“A negative impact on mental health”

“The players’ bodies are the rope on which we pull to increase revenue. We will be playing our third match in nine days, it requires a lot, both mentally and physically” thus denounced Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk, at the end of 2023. “Depressive symptoms are more common among football players than in the general populationabounds the study. Increased training loads, combined with insufficient recovery, can negatively impact players’ mood and overall mental health. »

And it doesn’t matter, according to Fifpro, if this surcharge affects a tiny part of the player population, or if its stars receive emoluments sometimes considered disproportionate. “Fifpro firmly rejects the impression (…) that workers’ remuneration would not allow them to benefit from protections. » In their study, the three researchers emphasize that “different types of monitoring are used, including monitoring of physical load, psychological monitoring” within the clubs, but that “the effectiveness of these methods in predicting injuries and optimizing training outcomes remains unclear”.

Yet, “Occupational safety and health standards, as defined by international frameworks, are fully applicable to the professional football sector”note the academics. So, “professional footballers are recognized as workers by labor law”. A status forcing, in theory, employers to “ensure that the safety and health of players are taken into account”.