Global football union finds fragmented growth in women's game

MANCHESTER, England : The growth of women's football has created a worrisome gulf in the sport, with some players stretched by their increasingly packed calendars but many others with too few games, a report by global players' union FIFPRO said.

The study compiled with Football Benchmark showed some players had 60-plus games last season, while others played less than 10, largely due to new or expanded competitions in Europe and North America with little or no development elsewhere.

While FIFPRO's study of 300 players found that Mariona Caldentey played the highest number with 64 games for FC Barcelona and Spain, the average was 33 games, which even with season breaks is significantly less than a game a week.

"There is a two-speed development of women's football," said Dr. Alex Culvin, FIFPRO's Director of Policy and Strategic Relations for Women's Football.

"You've got this percentage of players who'll be termed 'higher usage' that are squeezed consistently, both by the construct of the calendar, but also the kind of cadence of the games as well.

"The problems that they encounter are not only the number of games, but the lack of consideration of mandated breaks, so these players are constantly burdened, physically and mentally by the calendar.

"And then underloaded players, because we do know players who are playing less than one game a week, is quite problematic (because they) have an increased susceptibility to injury from detraining and retraining," Culvin told reporters on a video call.

The study "From High-Usage to Underload: A Tale of Two Industries" also found a huge disparity in preparation for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

AS Roma defender Moeka Minami played more than 4,500 minutes of competitive football in the 12