A new study by FIFPRO has highlighted a “two-tier ecosystem” in women’s football, which is creating injury risks at both ends of the spectrum.
FIFPRO, the international union for professional footballers, highlighted that elite players are burning out from packed schedules.
However, those outside the top clubs who also don’t play much international football are at risk of “underload”, where they play too little football.
The study by FIFPRO, released on Friday, showed a stark contrast in the number of minutes played at clubs in the same divisions across the 2024-25 season.
What did the FIFPRO women’s football report say about the WSL?
The report showed that an average Arsenal first-team player played 13 more full matches’ worth of playing time than those at Crystal Palace or Everton.
Arsenal pair Mariona Caldentey and Emily Fox were close to, or surpassed, 5,000 competitive minutes, while three more players, including Alessia Russo, exceeded 4,000.
Chelsea had one player above 4,000 minutes and Manchester City had two. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace, who ultimately were relegated from the WSL, did not have a single player hit 4,000 minutes for the season.
The top 15 players in FIFPRO’s monitoring database all played in 50 or more matches last season, the first time this has been the case since monitoring began in 2020-21. Of those 15 players, five play in the Women’s Super League.
Meanwhile, women’s football fans in England, recently expressed concern about plans to launch the Club World Cup. The proposed tournament in 2028 could increase the number of games for top sides in the WSL.
Top 15 players by match appearances in 2024-25
- Aitana Bonmati – 60 appearances, 4,851 minutes
- Ewa Pajor – 58 appearances, 4,626 minutes
- Frida Maanum – 58 appearances, 3,983 minutes
- Claudia Pina – 58 appearances, 3,632 minutes
- Mariona Caldentey – 57 appearances, 5,004 minutes
- Alessia Russo – 57 appearances, 4,719 minutes
- Patri Guijarro – 57 appearances, 4,350 minutes
- Jermaine Seoposenwe – 56 appearances, 3,579 minutes
- Linda Caicedo – 55 appearances, 4,577 minutes
- Athenea del Castillo – 55 appearances, 3,088 minutes
- Keira Walsh – 54 appearances, 4,128 minutes
- Ingrid Engen – 54 appearances, 3,930 minutes
- Leah Williamson – 54 appearances, 4,715 minutes
- Manuela Giugliano – 53 appearances, 4,567 minutes
- Thembi Kgatlana – 53 appearances, 4,214 minutes
Aitana Bonmati shows burnout issue in women’s football
Aitana Bonmati demanded Liga F changes last month, calling for a reduction to the number of teams in Spain’s top flight.
This comes as no surprise, as the three-time Ballon d’Or winner was the only player to make 60 appearances last season.
Her brutal schedule saw 57 per cent of those appearances made ‘back to back’ – with less than five days in between.
Bonmati suffered a broken leg during the last international break and will miss five months’ worth of action.
The FIFPRO report also highlighted other women’s football stars who played a high number of back-to-back games last season.
Arsenal and England star Alessia Russo saw 61 per cent of her 57 games last season played back-to-back. Arsenal teammate Frida Maanum, Barcelona’s Ewa Pajor and Real Madrid’s Athenea del Castillo made the highest number of back-to-back appearances with 36 across the season.
Players in top clubs in Spain are at the biggest risk of burnout, with Barcelona players averaging 33 games’ worth of playing time last season.
“Underload” issue in women’s football
The lack of meaningful game time for some players has also been described as an issue in women’s football.
In Germany and France’s top leagues, players manage no more than 14 matches across all competitions on average, which is roughly one and a half games a month during the season.
Across domestic competitions, Bayern Munich players averaged just 1,318 minutes. Fellow European giants Lyon played an average of 1,178 minutes across French domestic competitions.
A two-speed industry is emerging in women’s football.
New FIFPRO data shows a small group faces intense workload pressures, while most have too little competitive football to progress.
— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) December 12, 2025
Clubs outside the Champions League struggle to play enough minutes. In Germany, while Bayern Munich and VfL Wolfsburg averaged more than 2,000 minutes for club and international football, SC Freiburg players averaged less than 1,500 minutes.
In France’s top flight, FC Fleury 91 players averaged 1,363 minutes across the 2024-25 campaign.
While players in Spain have the highest average workload on average, there is a big difference between the teams at the top and bottom.
Players from FC Badalona averaged 16 fewer matches than Barcelona.
Players at risk of suffering injuries
Alex Culvin, FIFPRO’s director of women’s football, highlighted the workload imbalance problem while speaking to reporters.
He said that players were just as much at risk of picking up certain types of injuries, if they don’t play enough football.
He said, as per Reuters: “We talk a lot about the players who are exposed to a high workload and that’s primarily because they are the highest profile players. We need to keep them fit because they’re what people want to watch.
“But at the opposite end of the spectrum, the players who are underloaded are at risk, if not more at risk, for injury.
“There was a study done and it said if players are playing less than 25 games a season, they’re more likely to be at risk for certain types of injury.”
