Vivianne Miedema calls for changes to women’s schedule to protect player safety

Miedema’s Manchester City have been immersed in the busy schedule of late, playing eight matches in 29 days throughout March as they competed in four competitions.

She featured in all eight before sustaining her injury during the Netherlands’ Women’s Nations League match with Austria on 8 April, having also played for the national side four days earlier.

Including Miedema, manager Nick Cushing’s side have nine first-team players out injured or, in the cases of Alex Greenwood and Lauren Hemp, only recently returning to training following long-term absences.

However, concerns about the schedule and player safety are not restricted to Manchester City.

In April 2024, players’ union Fifpro and the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) launched a collaboration with Leeds Beckett University to accelerate research into reducing ACL injuries in women’s football.

ACL injuries are two to six times more likely to occur in women than men, and about two-thirds of them in women’s football happen when there is no physical contact. However, there is limited understanding of how to reduce their frequency in the professional game.

Last July, meanwhile, Fifpro, together with top European leagues, launched legal action against world governing body Fifa over its “abuse of dominance” in the game.

They filed a complaint to the European Commission to protect player welfare following pressure from leagues and player unions over the number of matches added to the calendar.