“At 22 years old, Vinicius Junior He has played 18,876 minutes with clubs and national teams, more than double than Ronaldinho at the same age”. Using the illustrative example, the international union of soccer players FIFPRO has again drawn attention to risks for the “mental health, professional career and personal life” of players undergoing a “congested” calendar of parties.
The body, led by the Spanish David Aganzo presented this Thursday, in conjunction with the end of the 2022-23 season, the report “Severe calendar congestion: adverse effect on the health and welfare of the player”, where he warned that this course has become “one of the busiest ever” due to the dispute in the middle of the World Cup in Qatar.
The other cases that FIFPRO is commenting on are the Spanish Peter“who played more than 12,000 minutes at age 20, a 25 percent more minutes than Xavi at the same age”, that of the French kylian mbappewho “at age 24 played 26,952 minutes, 48% more than Thierry Henry at the same age., and of English Jude Bellinghamwho “played more than 30% more minutes of competitive football than Wayne Rooney at the same age.”
“Until now,” the union said, “soccer stakeholders have done it Ignore it of sanitary safeguards in favor of expanding competition, which is expected to generate additional revenue”.
The report shows that in the 2024-25 season, due to the expansion of the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA Club World Cup, some players from the most successful clubs may participate. up to 89 games, 11% more.
“Even if some are necessary reduce your commitments or leave football early, there are no signs of a solution to protect them”, said the representatives of the players.
The union advocates “the adoption of safeguards that include mandatory breaks in and out of seasonregular breaks outside the club environment, the limitation of consecutive games and the reduction of international travel”.
“Health and safety of soccer players and of all other participants in the game must be above any other priority”, affirmed Aganzo.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
