13 February 2024 , 12:39
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England manager Sarina Wiegman has doubled down on her calls to FIFA to solve the fixture crisis plaguing the women's game.
Wiegman named a 23-player squad for the Lionesses' forthcoming warm-weather training camp in Spain later this month, at which the European champions will play Austria and Italy in a double-header.
Arsenal defender Leah Williamson was named in Wiegman's squad for the first time in 10 months since suffering an ACL injury. Williamson joins Arsenal striker Beth Mead in returning from an ACL injury in recent months.
The inclusions of Williamson and Mead come at a time when women's football is still reeling from a number of injuries to elite-level players across the globe; exhaustion and an overcrowded fixture schedule have been pointed to as the main culprits from managers and players.
Wiegman spoke in September about her "worries" over the lack of rest afforded to her players and others. And nearly six months on, the former Netherlands boss issued another call to football's governing bodies to find a solution.
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"What we want and what the players ask all of the time is where is rest for us?" Wiegman said. "We want players to be fit and fresh which means you always need rest, a proper rest and you need to train between June and July. We’ve had conversations with clubs, they’re good conversations but we still don’t have a solution.
"I think FIFA and UEFA need to sort that with the players. I don't want to be in the situation we were in last year. So hopefully they solve that this summer. Then afterwards when we talk about the calendar from 2025 onwards, this also needs to be solved. It’s complex at moments but players at the highest level need a proper rest between seasons."
Following the Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand last summer, a number of England internationals returned to their clubs almost immediately. While the Women's Super League pushed their season back a few weeks, clubs such as Arsenal were forced to play in the UEFA Women's Champions League qualification rounds as early as August.
Leah Williamson receives medical treatment during the WSL match against Manchester United (Photo by Alex Livesey - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)A FIFPro report published last year that increased workloads and fixture schedules resulted in a notable increase in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries for elite women's footballers.
Analysis indicated that those players who sustained ACL injuries were players who made more appearances and had less rest time in the 28 days prior to the injury. These players also tended to travel further and longer.
"It starts with the FIFA calendar, then it’s UEFA," Wiegman said. "The WSL started later but players can’t get rest if they’re playing in the first round of the Champions League. Then the federations need to adapt to that here in Europe. If you adapt a little bit we can build in some rest for players.
"We need to stay connected, communicate and we need to have the right people at the table to make these decisions."
Wiegman's comments echo those of England captain Leah Williamson, who warned football's governing bodies "you won't have players to watch" due to the increasingly hectic schedule of the women's game.
"We’re not bred for this. Nowadays we get to October and girls are saying, ‘I’m tired’ because you’re carrying so much from the previous season," she said. “Ultimately, I think the way you’re taking women’s football right now, you won’t be able to increase the ticket prices or get bigger crowds in the stadiums because you won’t have players to watch.
"We are driving ourselves into the ground with it, so some sort of solution needs to be found soon, in terms of the schedule, otherwise it’s not sustainable.”
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