April 27 – European clubs have called on countries to stick to the rules around the release of players for this summer’s Women’s World Cup.
The build-up to the tournament has been jolted by the European Club Association (ECA) firmly reminding national associations that players will not be available until 10 days beforehand.
The women’s game has been rocked by several high-profile injuries in the past year, including ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments suffered by players such as Vivianne Miedema, Alexia Putellas, Beth Mead and, last week, the England captain Leah Williamson.
In a statement released on Wednesday the European Clubs Association said it will be working with FIFA to ensure that players are not called up before the mandatory release period starts on July 10, which is 10 days before the event kicks off in Australia and New Zealand.
The ECA said it had received a “volume of alerts” from clubs about the issue and warned that the health and well-being of players could be put at risk.
“This is not a matter of financial compensation or the absence of adequate protection and insurance, but a serious concern for player welfare,” ECA Head of Women’s Football Claire Bloomfield said.
“The issue of early call-ups is a hangover from the game in its amateur form and is detrimental to the future success and growth of women’s football.”
Several countries have preparation camps planned and these could be seriously jeopardised if a compromise cannot be found.
“With players being called ahead of this date, in some instances as early as May, there will be insufficient time for adequate rest before the 2023 Women’s World Cup begins and upon its conclusion as clubs prepare for the 2023-24 season,” said the ECA.
“This lack of rest which results from early call-ups evidently contravenes the protection of players’ health and wellbeing which ECA believes shall always be a priority.”
“European clubs will seek to strictly adhere to the mandatory release period and request that the rules governing the release of players to their national teams to be respected ahead of the tournament.”
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes backed the ECA’s stance. “I think we have to reflect on the number of injuries that have taken place in the women’s game and say ultimately the duty of care we have to players,” she said.
“There’s a reason and a rationale for those windows because, especially in the last three years, players have had so little rest – maybe a couple of weeks at the end of the season, it is not enough.”
“As the game moves more from amateur to professional there has to be strict player welfare and we need to look at players having more rest.”
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