Is football’s congested fixture schedule beginning to show its negative effects?

Javier Martinez Albir

Miami, FL
07/27/2024

While it was an amazing experience to watch Euro 2024 and Copa America simultaneously, questions have been raised about the lack of quality displayed in both tournaments. Copa America might have a bit of an excuse due to the competition’s poor organization, which included adverse field conditions, extensive travel demands, and inadequate security protocols.

However, Euro 2024 was generally underwhelming, especially from the teams considered favorites. Historically, teams have often started slowly and progressively improved throughout the tournament, but on this occasion, neither France, England, nor Germany (apart from their opening group game against Scotland) performed at their best.

Interestingly, it was teams like Turkey, Austria, and even Romania who made more of an impact on the tournament than the initial favorites.

Many are quick to blame the national team managers, but is it really a case of bad preparation, or could it simply be the fact that we’re beginning to see the negative effects of football’s congested fixture schedule? A topic that many players and coaches have repeatedly talked about, but football’s governing leaders have constantly ignored.

It can’t be a coincidence that those who’ve played the most minutes in their club teams this season were arguably some of the worst players in the tournament.

When you analyze the teams that played in the Euro 2024 final, the comparison in minutes played (by on-field players) throughout the 2023/2024 season is staggering.

For example, 12 players from England surpassed 4,000 minutes (6 of them being starters) and 3 played more than 5,000 minutes(Foden, Rice, and Walker).

On the other hand, only 6 playersfrom Spain played over 4,000 minutes (3 being starters) and only one surpassed 5,000 minutes (Rodri).

Furthermore, several big-name players have not been able to last the full 90 minutes, even in big matches. For instance, during the Euro 2024 final, Harry Kane was taken off midway in the second half due to fitness issues. In the Champions League knockout stages, we’ve seen Kane, Haaland, and even Vinicius substituted when games were still on the line because they were physically fatigued.

If all this wasn’t concerning enough, let’s not forget that elite players in today’s game are better-taken care of than they were previously. Each player nowadays has their own gymnasium, meal plan, personal trainer, and all sorts of information needed to perform at their highest level.

If players are more professionalized and yet they’re still struggling to be in peak physical condition throughout the season, then football’s governing leaders should seriously be looking into making adjustments to its congested fixture schedule.

This is particularly important when you take into consideration that the Champions League will now include additional games, next season will feature the FIFA Club World Club, and the following World Cup will have more teams.