Last year’s mid-season World Cup in Qatar resulted in players from the top five European leagues experiencing an average of eight additional days of injury-related absence in the months following the tournament, according to a study.
Howden, an insurance group, released its European Football Injury Index for the 2022-23 season, a year following the World Cup. The index examined the impact of fixture congestion on player well-being during the previous season. According to the study, there were 88 documented injuries in October 2022, resulting in an average of 11.35 days of player absence before the tournament. However, this figure increased to 19.41 days in January 2023 after the tournament. The severity of injuries to the ankle, calf/shin, and hamstring saw significant increases of 170%, 200%, and 130% respectively.
“We’ve seen clearly that the staging of a men’s World Cup in a European winter led to players facing an extra eight days on the sidelines in the second half of the season, compared to the first,” Howden’s head of sport James Burrows said.
“The impact was consistent across domestic leagues such as the English Premier League and the German Bundesliga.”
Burrows stated that the greater severity of injuries led to a nearly 30% increase in the financial impact, rising from 553.62 million euros ($603.83 million) to 704.89 million euros in Europe’s top five leagues.
“The data is clear in demonstrating a trend,” he added.
“We hope our research and analysis will provide Europe’s top clubs with additional insight as they continue to talk to the game’s governing bodies about an improved alignment of the domestic and international calendars and the broad issue of fixture congestion.”
The research revealed that during the 2022-23 season, there were a total of 3,985 injuries in the top five European leagues. The English Premier League had 23.6% and the German Bundesliga had 14.8% of players participating in the World Cup, and they experienced the most significant increase in injury rates.
“In the two months after the tournament, Bundesliga players… suffered 46 injuries, compared to 49 in the English Premier League suggesting that the extended winter break in Germany following the men’s World Cup proved to have minimal effect,” the study said.
Earlier this year, FIFPRO, the international players’ union, reported that almost half of the players participating in the World Cup felt extreme or heightened mental fatigue due to an unusually congested season of fixtures. In January, about 44% of players experienced increased physical fatigue and 23% experienced heightened mental fatigue compared to previous seasons, with 53% feeling more susceptible to injuries.
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