Huge gaps within women’s football itself

Haiti has played less than a third of the games in his run to his first world Feminine than those played by the current champion, USAa transcendental aspect that makes a huge difference in gaming opportunities is the global players’ union, FIFPROwas found when conducting the study.

While the World Cup is a celebration of the growth of women’s football with a record 32 teams competing, it is also a time to “take stock of (the) sometimes patchy progress,” she said. by FIFPRO general secretary Jonas Baer-Hoffman. . The report (‘World Cup Workload Journey Report’), which was carried out by analyzing data from 300 players, shows the inequality of conditions between the teams due to the huge difference in the match schedule.

European teams have played twice as many games as Caribbean teams in the last 10 months, according to the 45-page Football Benchmark report. Combined, England, Spain and Portugal played roughly twice as many minutes for their clubs and countries than their rivals from Jamaica, Haiti and the Philippines. “Workload is a very important lens through which to view the state of interest in the industry,” said Sarah Gregorius, director of global policy and strategic relations for women’s football at FIFPRO.

“I think the Women’s World Cup gives us an opportunity to pause, look back a little bit on the four years between this and the last one, and do a little analysis of the industry and where it is.” One of the key findings was the lack of consistent data, Gregorius said, including data on the most basic metrics like games and minutes played.

FIFPRO could not find any information, he said, on the Philippines, which has not restarted since the COVID-19 pandemic. “That’s part of the problem, there is a centralized system (to register matches), but some federations don’t use it on a regular basis,” Gregorius said.

FIFPRO also organizes stand-alone World Cup qualifying competitions in the Americas, Africa and Asia, as UEFA, which covers European football, is the only region to have one. In the past four years, some countries have had to rely on playing friendlies for extended periods, with Zambia playing 23 in a row and Brazil 18.

Finding a tricky balance

Players from Japan and Brazil logged the most minutes combined of the non-European countries, while players from Australia, the US and Canada had significantly fewer minutes than most due to smaller domestic that league. Balancing all of that poses challenges.

“It’s interesting, because some of the situations in Europe are getting closer to the other end of the overload scale than under load,” Gregorius said. “It’s important that we make decisions that benefit the majority.” The United States has played 65 games, the team that has played the most in an entire World Cup, since winning the 2019 tournament, while Haiti has played only 19 and two years during the COVID-19 period without a game.

Real Madrid and Spain goalkeeper Misa Rodríguez and AS Roma and Japanese defender Moeka Minami have logged more than 4,000 minutes, more than any other player at this year’s World Cup.