Alarming data emerge from the latest survey carried out by the Fifpro union among the footballers who participated in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand last summer. One in ten internationals did not receive a medical examination prior to the tournament and a dangerous 22% did not have an electrocardiogram before the World Cup. They are two tests contemplated in the FIFA regulations, but even so, they were not always fulfilled as reflected in this survey.
“Any figure less than 100 percent, in terms of ECG (electrocardiogram), or the pre-tournament medical examination, is not acceptable,” says Dr. Alex Culvin, Director of Strategy and Research for Women's Football at Fifpro. “Football players must complete these important checks before competing, and the regulations must be applied and respected in their entirety,” she concludes.
Fifpro has surveyed 260 soccer players from 26 of the 32 nations that participated in the last World Cup and the answers show problems in such important aspects as health, rest or the economic conditions of the athletes.
The average rest that the internationals had between the end of their participation in the World Cup and their return to the discipline of their clubs was less than two weeks. 86% had less than 13 days of rest. “I tried to rest and prepare at the same time, which doesn't really work,” one player reported in the survey. “It's mentally exhausting,” said another.
The FC Barcelona internationals who played in the World Cup final, such as Aitana Bonmatí, Ona Batlle, Keira Walsh and Lucy Bronze, for example, only had 17 days since they played in the final on August 20 and placed themselves under the command of Jonatan Giráldez on September 6.
Not only that, 53% of the internationals surveyed felt that they had not had enough rest before the tournament, highlighting the serious problems with the international calendar and the need to address them in the future.
On the economic level, there also continue to be serious differences. One in three World Cup soccer players earns less than 30,000 euros a year from her soccer activity, which means that one in five must supplement her income with a second job.
This year, for the first time in history, FIFA approved a fairer compensation system for female footballers. The Federations are obliged to give their players a percentage of their earnings for their participation in the tournament. Each must receive at least 28,000 euros for participating in the group stage. A figure that increases as the team overcomes qualifying rounds. The problem is that the money continues to end up in the coffers of the Federations and some have not yet distributed the money among their players.
The survey addresses other topics that reflect that there is still a lot of work to do. 60% do not have access to mental health, 2 out of 3 consider that the coaching staff of their team could be improved and 1 out of 3 that the nutrition during the World Cup could have been better. Progress has been made in other aspects such as travel. 94% of the soccer players traveled in business class, although the percentage drops to 80% for the return flight.
