Discussions on the football calendar and player workload have been hot topics for a long time now. Managers cite player burnout all the time. Workload was mentioned during the Champions League reforms process and it is why the introduction of the European Conference League is not a good idea. Project Big Picture even brought the issue to the forefront.
FIFPro, the global football union, has restarted the debate. They have published data that is detailed in their annual “workload report” which explains the damaging impact the football calendar, lack of seasonal breaks and travel exposure is having on the players.
The 76-page document has a lot of information and a lot of numbers. Percentages have been rounded to make it easier to digest. Nonetheless, here is a breakdown of the key findings from the report.
FIFPro Annual Workload Report Breakdown
The Rise of the ‘Critical Zone’
The critical zone is a term used throughout the FIFPro annual workload report. The union says it is when a player plays at least 45 minutes in back-to-back matches and they did not have at least five days of rest and recovery between the two appearances. They also note that travel and shortened off-season and on-season breaks constitute to the critical zone.
With that in mind, the report says the share of minutes in the critical zone has “steadily increased”. In 2018/19, the average amount of minutes in the critical zone was 46%. During the Covid-19 impacted season, this rose to 50%. Last season, it increased to 53%. FIFPro’s conclusion is that the calendar has become more congested for more players since 2018.
The report also showed every position saw rises compared to the 2018/19 season. The goalkeeper’s critical zone appearances rose from 51% to 61%. An attacker saw a similar rise with an increase from 42% to 52%. A defender’s average critical zone grew from 49% to 53%. Meanwhile, midfielder’s jumped from 46% to 50%.
FIFPro says domestic and international cups account for the highest proportion for critical zone minutes as they tend to be always played mid-week. It also subtly criticises friendlies that are played during or straight after the season as they are only designed to increase revenue.
In turn, the report ensured a breakdown of different groups of players were provided. The domestic playing group, or those who only play domestic matches, saw their average critical zone minutes surge from 30% in 2018/19 to 42% in 2020/21. In the same period, the international playing group crept up from 51% to 57%. For the highest workload playing group, or those in the Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe category, their average critical zone minutes spiked from 60% to 67%.
Consequently, the effects of the back-to-back matches include sleep disruption, training consistency, travel fatigue, increased injury risk and mental health issues. It is important to note that the union’s consultant, high-performance manager Darren Burgess, says the effects are not limited to just these five.
In specific situations, players are involved in 60 or 70 matches a season. Pedri Gonzalez, Barcelona’s young star, played 78 matches – or 5,636 minutes – in his breakthrough year. As a result, 68% of Pedri’s minutes were played in the critical zone. The Spaniard also had fewer than five days rest for 64 of his appearances.
Preventing Overload
Reducing Critical Zone Appearances
The critical zones’ averages show a clear trend in the workload of players. They are rising, and there is little suggestion they will stop rising. The Champions League is expanding, FIFA is planning to push through their biennial World Cup proposals, and UEFA and CONMEBOL recently announced they will hold a one-off match between the respected champions of the European Championships and the Copa America.
As a result, FIFPro is seeking player protection reforms. One suggestion they proposed is limiting the number of consecutive matches in the critical zone. The union is open to what the limit is as they offer scenarios based on nationality and the league they play in.
For example, if a European player in the Premier League was to play every match, be it competitive or friendly, they would reach 82 appearances for the season. However, if the number of critical zone matches was halted to five, they would play six fewer games. If they could only play four critical zone fixtures, they would play seven fewer. The total drops to ten fewer matches if they were limited to just three critical zone appearances.
Suddenly, a player’s critical zone average would drop from 74% if they were to play every game, by 6%, 9% or 11% depending on the limit. For a South American playing in Serie A, the same model suggest their critical zone appearances would decrease by 5%, 8% or 14%. An African Serie A player would see their workload reduce by 4%, 7% or 8%.
Rest and Recovery
Following on, FIFPro says it believes players need at least five days rest between appearances. To make their point known, they compared the percentage of matches between the three groups of players earlier mentioned.
To summarise, the highest workload playing group excessively played without the required rest. Last season, matches with fewer than three days rest increased from 19% in 2018/19 to 27% in 2020/21. Meanwhile, fixtures with fewer than five days rest rose from 63% to 73%.
This compares to the international playing group who saw a similar percentage increase. Matches with fewer than three days rest rose from 18% to 24%. Fewer than five days rest jumped from 57% to 66%.
Unsurprisingly these figures dwarf the domestic playing group, but their trends are also rising. Games played with fewer than three days rest steadily increased from 10% to 15%. In comparison, fixtures played with fewer than five days rest sprung from 57% to 66%.
FIFPro says the reason behind these rises is mostly down to the return of international matches, tournaments and a tightly packed domestic schedule of the 2020/21 season. Additionally, the report says the figures “might hint at other factors at play”. However, they do not say what these factors might be.
Season Breaks
Another suggestion the FIFPro annual workload report cited was that players need seasonal breaks. The union recommends that players should have at least 28 days rest in the off-season and 14 days rest during the in-season.
To drive the point further they said 45% of off-season breaks were too short and just 70% of in-season breaks met the recommendation over three seasons. They boldly pointed the finger towards three leagues that have the shortest breaks: the Egyptian Premier League, the K-League 1 and the English Premier League.
FIFPRO also noted that the Premier League is the only top European league without five substitutes.
Travel Exposure
The final primary point FIFPro’s annual workload report makes is the impact of overseas travel on the players.
One example they give is the comparison between Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son. The England captain travelled more than 86km across borders. He spent 123 hours travelling, 19% of which was crossing at least two time zones. On the other hand, Kane’s Spurs teammate travelled more than 223km. Son spent 300 hours flying, with 47% of that time involving at least two time zones.
The union reported that South American and Asian World Cup qualifiers are responsible for the most airtime for international competitions. Friendlies came fifth, just 23km behind CONCACAF’s National League – League A.
South American players are also ‘unequally’ impacted by internationals. This is because a one-way flight takes seven times longer than a European one. FIFPro concluded that “while real-life distances cannot be altered, it might be worthwhile to review the necessity of international trips based on the importance of the competition they are associated to.”
Reaction
The findings from the FIFPro annual workload report led to general secretary Jonas Baer Hoffmann hoping a resolution can be found.
“The data shows we must release pressure on players at the top end of the game and this report provides new research why we need regulation and enforcement mechanisms to protect players,” he said.
“These are the type of solutions that must be at the top of the agenda whenever we discuss the development of the match calendar. It’s time to make player health and performance a priority.”
Andrea Sartori, KPMG global head of sports, supported Hoffmann’s view when the report was published.
“The extensive data sourced from the FIFPRO PWM platform on the match calendar confirms that increasing player workload constitutes a critical issue not only for players’ health but also for the sustainable development of the game,” Sartori asserted.
“Therefore, a player-centric and holistic approach is needed from all participants in any future discussion on next generation of competition formats and match calendar.”
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