"You've got the perfect storm of how not to treat a human,"
"You've got players playing a large number of games followed by fewer than the recommended off-season days and preseason days followed by a large number of games again,"
"The cycle keeps repeating."
"This leads to injury at worst and at best reduced capacity to perform,"
"This year, with the impact at the Club World Cup, and the pathway towards the World Cup in the US, it felt necessary to include it in the report this year,"
Competition calendar congestion and extreme heat are creating significant risks to men's professional footballers' health and availability. The 32-team Club World Cup extended many players' seasons to nearly a year and severely shortened off-seasons and preseasons for clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Bayern Munich. Without improved safeguarding and better load management, player participation at the 2026 World Cup is at risk. Medical experts recommend a minimum of four weeks between seasons and at least two days between appearances, and that travel burden and heat be considered when scheduling fixtures.
Read at www.dw.com
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