England boss Sarina Wiegman has admitted she is 'very worried' about the women's football calendar and has urged FIFA & UEFA to 'solve' the problems.
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Wiegman concerned about women's calendarBelieves players should be having 'proper rest'Urges FIFA and UEFA to act and 'solve' problemsWHAT HAPPENED?
The women's football calendar is a constant talking point, with it severely imbalanced and often seen as a contributing factor to the ACL crisis that the sport is suffering from because players at the very highest level are granted very few opportunities to rest.
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England coach Wiegman raised her concerns about the calendar again on Tuesday, admitting that she is "very worried" about it because it "looks similar to last year". The Lionesses don't have a major tournament to contend with this summer but there is an international break in June before the Champions League begins in early September again. Those who play their football in Spain, that being Lucy Bronze and Keira Walsh in England's case, will also have league games to play in June after international duty.
"What you want, what the players ask all the time, too, is where is the rest for us? Because they want to compete, we want the players to be fit and fresh, which means that you always also need rest, a proper rest, and that you need to train in between June and July, too," Wiegman said. "We have had conversations with clubs. These have been very good conversations but we still don't have a solution for that period. I think that FIFA and UEFA need to solve that for the players. I don't want to get in the same situation with the players, with the clubs, that we had last year [when there were disagreements and negotiations about when clubs would release players to the national team]. No one wants that because that's how the conversations with the clubs have been, too. So hopefully UEFA and FIFA solve that, especially this summer, but then after when we talk about the calendar from 2025 onwards, this really needs to be solved. It's complex at moments but players at the highest level, the demands are so high, they need a proper rest in between seasons. Things really need to be changed."
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The Lionesses will have more time off this summer than they have had since the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2021, many England stars were part of the Great Britain team that played in the Olympic women's football tournament in Japan, then the European Championships and World Cup occupied the following two summers. However, England's Euro 2025 qualifying fixtures in June will limit the amount of rest the players get.
DID YOU KNOW?
Last summer, England star Alessia Russo was a prime example of the lack of rest top players get. There were just 17 days between the forward starting the World Cup final in August and then making her Arsenal debut in a crucial Champions League qualifier in September, such was the short turnaround between the tournament and the new season.
