Sarina Wiegman has issued a warning (Picture: Getty)
Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman has urged governing bodies to address their non-stop calendar, with her players fearing burnout due to a fourth successive summer of international fixtures.
Despite failing to qualify for the Olympics in Paris as part of Team GB, the England women’s team still face the prospect of Euro 2025 qualifying fixtures in June and July.
It means potentially a fourth consecutive disrupted off-season for some players after the squad reached the final of the last two major tournaments – Euro 2022 and last summer’s World Cup – as well as featuring in the delayed Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021.
With the WSL not concluding until the last weekend in May and some players back in club competition in early September, Wiegman fears some of the players won’t get the necessary time off to decompress.
‘That’s what we need to take care of and we’ve asked FIFA and UEFA to look at that and change that in the future so players can have some rest,’ the Lionesses’ boss confirmed.
‘It’s great that we have players that love football, but we have to take care of them too so we have to do something about the calendar.
‘We can’t change it so you’re trying to do the best to take care of the players and at the same time perform to the highest level and take out the highest risks of getting injured, in collaboration with clubs.’
Georgia Stanway fears players may burnout (Picture: Getty)
Georgia Stanway, meanwhile, echoed her manager’s thoughts and said she fears a potential burnout if the intense schedule does not relent.
‘When we didn’t qualify for the Olympics we thought it was the perfect opportunity to have the summer off, maybe travel a bit further,’ the Bayern Munich midfielder added.
‘We realise it’s not quite as simple as that but the best thing we can do is work with countries and clubs to find the best solution.
More Trending
‘Hopefully, the best solution is giving us a good enough time of rest but also the most important thing is we want to qualify for Euro 2025 – we will do anything to put ourselves in the best possible position to go to that tournament.
‘It is a potential burnout but Football is our life. Everything we do is to be successful on the pitch.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.