Top women’s soccer players are increasingly having to juggle more club and international matches while getting less time for rest and recovery, according to a report by the global players’ union.
FIFPRO’s report released Friday noted that the rise of women’s leagues worldwide, expanded fields for international competitions and the addition of new tournaments have added to elite player workload. But it also noted there’s a vast disparity in the women’s game, with many players not getting enough matches or time in training environments, which can hamper development and possibly lead to injury.
FIFPRO is calling for a more balanced competition calendar and greater player protections on both ends of the workload spectrum, including mandated rest periods.
“It is about the calendar and the cadence of the calendar, but it’s also about the conditions in which those games are played and the rest and recovery for the players,” said Alex Culvin, FIFPRO director of women’s football. “We take this as a very holistic view. It’s all about growing the game sustainably, but allowing the players to be in environments where they can thrive.”
The report compiled data from 300 players across 30 leagues over the 2024-25 season. For the first time since FIFPRO started collecting workload data in 2020, the top 15 players played 50 matches or more.
Among the game’s top players, Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati had the most matches, playing in 60 games for Barcelona and Spain, with less than five days of recovery between 57% of her matches. Bonmati recently fractured her fibula in training with Spain and was expected to be sidelined at least five months.
And it’s not just playing time that adds to fatigue. Linda Caicedo, playing for Real Madrid and Colombia, travelled 95,000 kilometers, more than 59,000 miles, in 18 trips during the season, the report said.
At the same time, some players in France and Germany’s top divisions played just 13 or 14 matches across all competitions in a season, the report said.
“I was really concerned when I read the overload data, but also underload, it’s a reality,” said Maitane Lopez, who plays for the Chicago Stars and Spain. “All of these young players that come to the league and they’re really young, they’re not having enough time to develop. And I think that’s also important because all of us, we want to win. The coaches want to win. The club wants us to win. So, if you are not developing and taking care of the players, that will have an impact. And maybe not right now, short term, but long term it is going to be huge.”
Culvin said FIFPRO continues to advocate for mandated rest periods within the FIFA competition calendar. But the current women’s calendar is set through 2029.
“Having rest periods within the calendar that are untouchable is really important,” Culvin said.
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