The world of professional football is facing a critical juncture as the relentless expansion of the game’s calendar threatens to push players to their physical limits. Gazzetta dello Sport report how the Italian Footballers’ Association (AIC) has sounded the alarm with a comprehensive report titled “Injury Time,” highlighting the potential consequences of the ever-growing number of matches in a season.
The study, which analyzed the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons across Serie A, Premier League, and La Liga, reveals a disturbing trend. Players who participated in 54-55 matches per year experienced an average of 71 days of injury time per season. With new formats introduced by FIFA and UEFA, including an expanded Club World Cup and Champions League, clubs are expected to play an additional 11 matches per season on average.
The AIC’s projections paint a grim picture. If the current trend continues, each player could face up to 107 days of injury time per season. This translates to an additional 36 days of injury per player, a staggering 50% increase. In practical terms, this means clubs could have a player injured every three days.
The impact of this increased workload is not evenly distributed. The report isolates the five clubs from England, Italy, and Spain that played the most games (between 54 and 55) in a season. For these teams, injuries increased by 30% in the 2023-24 season compared to the previous year. In contrast, the five teams with the fewest matches (40 to 42) saw only a 12% increase in injuries.
The study also sheds light on the economic implications of this trend. It introduces the concept of “devaluing injuries” – cases where a player is unavailable for more than 90 days in a season. These long-term injuries not only affect the player’s performance but also impact the club’s value and the overall spectacle of the sport. In the Premier League, such injuries accounted for 17% of all injuries in 2022-23, rising to 21% in 2023-24, with a 43% increase for the five clubs that played the most matches.
Umberto Calcagno, president of the AIC, emphasizes that this is not just a matter of player health but also affects the quality of the spectacle offered to fans. He points out that if a player participates in more than 55 club matches (excluding national team duties), they statistically risk being unavailable for at least 70 days in a season. This means that for over two months, fans might not see some of the best players on the field, despite having paid for tickets or TV subscriptions.
Calcagno argues that top-level football depends on media logic, and therefore, it’s crucial to ensure that top players are in the best condition to perform at their highest level. He highlights that the research analyzed two “historic” seasons for football, with a World Cup and European Championship held just 16 months apart instead of the usual 24. This created a “super-season” where athletes never had the chance to fully recover and perform at their best.
The AIC president warns that further increasing the number of televised matches would lead to a decrease in the quality of the product sold, devaluing it and risking the physical integrity of the players. This situation has led to an unprecedented alliance between employers (the association of European leagues) and workers’ unions (led by FIFPro), who have jointly filed a complaint with the European Commission against FIFA, accusing it of abuse of dominant position following the creation of the expanded 32-team Club World Cup.
