Soccer Players Are Being Seriously Overworked
FIFA Club World Cup matches have been mostly forgettable, and worries persist about injuries and fatigue.
On July 13, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will play at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey in the FIFA Club World Cup final, with the winner set to take home more than $125 million in prize money and a gyroscopic, gold-plated trophy. For fans, it’s bonus soccer—a high-stakes match featuring world-class players during what otherwise would be a lull in the season. The tournament was designed to be a “big bang,” as FIFA President Gianni Infantino put it, a new beginning in what was, at least for European clubs, a blank space.
But the tournament’s main selling point is also its main flaw. For many players, the Club World Cup is extra work—a slate of high-pressure matches during what otherwise would be a much-needed break. Chelsea left back Marc Cucurella, for instance, has been competing almost nonstop since last summer’s UEFA European Football Championship. In a span of 13 months, the 26-year-old has played in 66 matches for club and country (Spain), putting in more than 5,400 minutes on the pitch, a workload far exceeding the norm for previous generations of elite players. It’s simply too much, a dangerously heavy burden on a player’s body and mind.