More competitions, longer seasons and other demands put focus on workload in elite women’s soccer

Netherlands' Vivianne Miedema reacts after a missed chance to score during the Euro 2025, group D, soccer match between England and the Netherlands at Stadion Letzigrund in Zurich, Switzerland, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

England’s Millie Bright bowed out of the European Championship because of mental and physical exhaustion. The Netherland’s Vivianne Miedema suggested too many games lead to more injuries. Ireland’s Katie McCabe didn’t play in a pair of games in the United States because she was said to be on the verge of burnout.

New tournaments and expanded fields for existing competitions, longer seasons and more professional opportunities have some players and coaches asking: How much is too much?

Workload has long been an issue in men’s soccer, recently gaining more attention because of the expanded 32-team field at this year’s Club World Cup. But it’s a newer concern for some women as the game’s profile rises on the global stage.

More women’s competitions, while providing more opportunities to play, also mean more travel and less time off.

Alex Culvin, director of global policy for women’s soccer at FIFPRO, the global players union, said there needs to be more care paid to international and regional calendars to ensure players have a balance while still growing the game.

“The growth is happening right before our eyes. However, those players also need to be protected because we can’t always demand more of them all of the time without saying `We’ll demand more now, and then you’ll have a rest and that rest is protected. Nobody can encroach on that rest and if you do, there’s consequences, regulatory consequences.’ I think we haven’t quite gotten there yet,” Culvin said. “I think the mandated rest periods are something that FIFPRO really advocates for and something the players really want.”

Those who play for high-profile national and club teams are most impacted.

“Mentally and physically I’m at my limits,” Bright said on a podcast explaining her decision to sit out of Euro 2025 after her season with Chelsea.

In April, after injuring her hamstring while playing in a Nations League match with the Netherlands, Miedema, who plays for Manchester City, criticized the ever-more crowded calendar on social media.

“I will say this over and over again. To the people in charge of the football calendar, it is time to realise the current schedule will need to change for players’ physical and mental safety,” Miedema wrote.

McCabe, who plays for Arsenal, was left out of a pair of friendlies against the U.S. national team last month by Ireland coach Carla Ward.

“Katie has played an awful lot of minutes for club and country,” Ward said ahead of the trip. “She’s on the verge of burnout, as are some others.”

FIFPRO has a dashboard that monitors high minutes for players around the globe.

From June 1, 2024, to June 1, 2025, ahead of Euro 2025, Spain’s Aitana Bonmatí (5,045) and teammate Mariona Caldentey (4,976) had the most minutes played of the 294 players monitored.

Caldentey also plays for Arsenal in the Women’s Super League in England, while Bonmatí, a two-time Ballon d’Or winner, plays professionally for Barcelona. Spain will play in Euro 2025 title match on Sunday against England.

U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes was so concerned about rest that she left her European-based players off the team for the latest international window so that they could recuperate from their seasons.

Players in Europe play from fall to spring, whereas in the National Women’s Soccer League, the season goes from early spring through the summer and into fall. Hayes has to manage her players with both of those seasons in mind.

“All I can control is that in 2027 there is a World Cup, and this player has this number of games, this is their season window, these are the national call-ups they might well receive, this is their offseason,” Hayes said. ”My job is to be educating the player with what you’ve achieved, what you’ve done the last last two years, and how that accumulative effect doesn’t have an impact today, but might in two years.”

National teams in Europe, Africa and South America have big regional competitions this summer — in addition to Euro 2025, there’s the Africa Cup of Nations and the Copa América Feminina.

But there are new events popping up as women’s soccer becomes more popular.

A new 7-on-7 tournament was played in Portugal that included eight professional clubs, with an attractive $5 million purse. The field for World Sevens Football included Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

England coach Sarina Wiegman said the national team was in contact with players about taking part, making sure that overload wouldn’t be an issue.

“Everyone has a different schedule and comes from different places. So, if you talk about Lauren (Hemp) and Alex (Greenwood), it’s different, and other players who have played throughout the whole season,” Wiegman said. “Also some players see it as an opportunity to, in a different way, get some training, playing minutes in — being aware of don’t overload, be smart, because there’s bigger picture in this.”

Those tournaments are in addition to regional club competitions like the UEFA Women’s Champions League and the new CONCACAF W Champions Cup, which starts next month.

And there are more international women’s competitions on the way. A women’s Club World Cup will launch in 2028, while the Women’s Champions Cup is set to start next year.

While some more developed teams, leagues and federations are increasing opportunities, that’s not the case in many parts of the world, where some players don’t get enough work, putting them at the risk of injury.

At the Copa América Femenina, Bolivia, ranked No. 105 in the world and playing with a squad that included amateurs, had only three matches together this year ahead of the tournament. Bolivia doesn’t use all of its FIFA windows.

In the end, Culvin said striking a balance is difficult. The growth of the game is important but it can’t come at the expense of the players.

“It’s the players who make the ultimate sacrifice, the game revolves around them. Without the players there is no game. And I think that mindset needs to be front of mind. And we need to say, `How do we protect these people as much as we can?’” Culvin said. “The stakeholders are custodians of the game, and we have a responsibility to protect our most prized assets and that’s the players.”

___

Anne M. Peterson, The Associated Press