FIFPro research highlights structural problems holding back Australian women's football

As Australian football digests the Matildas' quarter-final exit from the 2022 Asian Cup, the global players' union has released a study that could form part of how the game and its various stakeholders, including Football Australia and A-League clubs, respond.

On Tuesday, FIFPro — The Fédération Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels — released its first Player Workload Monitoring Report for Women's Football: a data-based study that assessed the workloads of 85 professional footballers including Ballon d'Or winner Alexia Putellas and Matildas captain Sam Kerr.

The report not only measured the number and type of minutes these footballers played across multiple competitions for both club and country, but it also contextualised these workloads within the match calendars of their leagues as well as international competitions such as Olympic Games and Women's World Cups.

Of the many preliminary findings from this inaugural report, FIFPro found that one of the biggest issues facing women's football today was a lack of competitive matches and uneven scheduling, which often led to «under-loading,» or a lack of high-quality minutes played consistently and sustainably in a calendar year.

According to the report, the 85 individuals sampled played an average of 29 matches in all competitions, including international tournaments and friendlies.

That number was seven games more than what they played the previous year, which was heavily and unevenly affected by the pandemic, with some leagues and tournaments temporarily pausing while others were abandoned altogether.

The women's report juxtaposes heavily with the figures presented in the men's equivalent workload study, revealingly titled At The Limit, which found