Women’s Champions League:
The Women’s Champions League normally has qualifying games and for Manchester City and Arsenal they had one round and two rounds of it respectively this season. In the group stage, the teams face three games at home and three games away, with the games alternating. Traditionally, the Women’s Super League games are on the weekend with Women’s Champions League during midweek which causes problems for injuries as there is a quick turn around between the two.
In gameweek 2, Chelsea were due to face Manchester United but they had a Champions League game against Real Madrid on Tuesday and therefore had to postpone the Women’s Super League game. Some people were complaining that there was a lack of notice for fans travelling as they only gave them around 48 hours notice. Congestion happens in the earlier months of the season as they need to play six games before the turn of the year which causes a risk of injuries especially if there are too many games.
Women’s Super League:
The Women’s Super League normally has games postponed if some of the cup games come in the way of the matches. Teams play 22 games throughout the season with them facing a team both home and away. The season started on the weekend of 21st and 22nd September with it finishing the weekend of 10th and 11th May and the players will have a well earned rest from the 16th December to 18th January to make sure they are recovered after a busy first half of the season.
International Fixtures:
After the Coronavirus pandemic in 2020, the tournament schedule got messed up with all competitions moving back a year. The Tokyo Olympics were now in 2021, with some teams taking part and therefore some Women’s Super League players were involved. This caused congestion because the teams were forced to come back to the league with hardly any preparation and going straight back into the matches.
The next year was the rescheduled Women’s EUROS in the UK with England winning the tournament and therefore they had the World Cup in 2023 (Which was not rescheduled). This meant they played three international tournaments in three years with the possibility of individuals playing in the 2024 Paris Olympics which meant a lack of break time as they go straight back into League action. Additionally, they have had Nations League matches and Friendlies if there is no competition, which causes more stress for injuries as they are still playing when there is nothing to play for.
FA Cup and League Cup:
The FA Cup final this year lands just a week before the Champions League final (at most) which is a cause for concern if there is the same english team in both as the lack of rest might cause a problem. Being in the FA Cup causes more problems for the lower league teams due to the amount of games they need to play before getting into the first round proper and a chance of playing Women’s Super League and Women’s Championship sides.
The League cup final falls on the 15th March, which still falls in the middle of all the seasons in English Women’s Football. This means that there will be a fixture postponement for whoever is in the final and will have to race to finish the game before the end of the season, causing more injuries and pressure on the players. League cup fixtures are played at the start of the season during the autumn with teams in the Women’s Champions League needing to fit the games in as well.
Risk of Injuries due to the fixtures:
Due to the amount of fixtures, there is injury risk for everyone involved. In just several gameweeks, there have been three ACL injuries. Sofie Lundgaard (Liverpool) ruptured hers against Tottenham Hotspur, Imma Gabarro (Everton) did hers against Manchester United in Gameweek two with Aurora Galli (Everton) doing hers against Brighton.
In preseason, Sophie Ingle (Chelsea), Kit Graham (Tottenham Hotspur) and Jess Ziu (West Ham) all ruptured theirs in preseason with Risa Shimizu (Manchester City) doing hers in the Olympics. Additionally, Jorja Fox (was on loan at Crystal Palace from Chelsea) also did hers. The risk of getting an ACL injury is more likely for a woman due to the anatomy of the body and therefore there is more risk of injury and the congestion of the fixtures does not help the situation.
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