Ireland captain Katie McCabe is calling for action from football’s governing bodies to address calendar congestion, which she believes could harm players and fans alike.
Ticket sales have steadily been on the rise in women's football. Just this season, the Gunners sold 60,050 tickets for their north London derby on 3 March, two weeks after selling 60,160 for a first-time Women’s Super League sell-out at the Emirates Stadium before the international break in February.
— Arsenal Women (@ArsenalWFC) March 4, 2024
McCabe told the PA news agency last week: “I think for us to be playing at our best and to be giving those record crowds good games to watch we need to be fresh."
"With the FIFA window, and obviously the Euro qualifiers window, it’s incredible how they’ve moved an international camp in the middle of summer and thinking that was a good idea."
“It’s difficult. Obviously we are footballers, we want to be able to play the games, but we also want to feel that freshness going into it as well. It’s really difficult for us, but we obviously need to keep going."
“Unfortunately it’s not in our power as players, we want the governing bodies to listen to us and to make sure there’s change with that as well, because it’s not going to be solved in the way it’s being solved right now,” McCabe said.
McCabe’s concerns align with those expressed by Professional Footballers’ Association chief executive Maheta Molango, who highlighted the risk to player health saying, "For us, we’ve reached a stage where it is not just about the health of the player, it is (also) about us killing the product.”
The women’s game shares similar scheduling hurdles and welfare concerns, especially for those balancing club and international commitments, like McCabe's team Arsenal, currently competing for the WSL title and in the Continental Tyres League Cup.
Euro 2025 qualifiers loom in April, with the WSL season ending in May, followed by the FA Cup final and Champions League decider. The upcoming qualifiers are followed by more in May and July, with the next WSL season commencing in September. This puts into perspective the limited time players will have to rest as they juggle international and club duties.
CONFIRMED | 2025 Women’s European Qualifiers
Ireland will face France, England & Sweden in Group A3 🇮🇪
Fixture details to follow in due course#COYGIG | #WEURO2025 pic.twitter.com/5C00tr9mC2— Ireland Football ⚽️🇮🇪 (@IrelandFootball) March 5, 2024
Despite these challenges, McCabe and her teammates are trying to remain proactive, utilizing wearable GPS-tracking technology to prevent injuries and optimize performance. Embracing a game-by-game approach, they focus on controlling what they can and remain competitive in a fiercely contested league.
“We’re quite competitive, so for us we’re always interested in the nitty-gritty things. I know when I’ve hit certain metrics in a game, I feel like I’ve had a good game, and we’re able to look at numbers throughout the week so we’re not underloaded or overloaded going into games," McCabe explained.
“We just concentrate on what we can control and take each game as it comes..."
