Player Workload

What you should know

An unbalanced match calendar puts players' health and career at risk

An unbalanced calendar puts the health and career prospects of players at risk. It can threaten to diminish peak sporting performance and, consequently, the quality of competitions. This is an increasing issue in men’s and women's football and FIFPRO is committed to monitoring workload through the PWM platform.

Players' earning potential is being unfairly impacted

The career of a footballer is relatively short, and imbalances in the match calendar can impact players to the point of being unable to achieve their full potential. FIFPRO extensively researches this issue to provide a framework for best practice, in order to protect players and advocate for a balanced match calendar that takes into consideration the impact of overall workload, rest and recovery periods and international travel on players.

Players must come first

Current match calendar management shows little regard for players' overall wellbeing and requires urgent reconsideration, with regular revisions by competition organisers to ensure that player health, performance and career are the centre of decision-making.

Player Workload Player story

Olivia Chance: "Conditions that ensure best performance for men’s players need to be applied to the women’s game"

According to FIFPRO’s Player Workload Monitoring tool, Celtic and New Zealand midfielder Olivia Chance has travelled further than any other player to represent her club and country between August 2022 and April 2023, tallying more than 145,000 kilometres across 12 trips.

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