FIFPro: "Some professional footballers are playing in almost 80 games each year" (study)

"Some professional footballers are playing in almost 80 games and travelling more than 100,000 kilometers each year to represent their national team as the match calendar becomes increasingly congested at the pinnacle of the game," stated FIFPro following a study it published on 01/08/2019.

The international footballers' union gives the example of the South Korean Heung-Min Son (Tottenham Hotspur FC), who played 78 matches in total and traveled more than 110,000 kilometers, largely to represent his national team, between 25/05/2018 and 13/06/2019.

"With football authorities vying to give their leagues or tournaments maximum exposure, top players are facing ever shorter rest periods, with some getting an offseason break of less than two weeks, the research shows," added FIFPro.

• The report - At the Limit: Player Workload in Elite Professional Men's Football - compiles statistics on match schedule, travel and recovery time of a sample of 16 players from Europe, Asia, the Americas and Africa, who compete in several competitions for their club and national team.

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