The majority of footballers say their mental health is impacted by fear of injury, according to latest research from the Professional Footballers’ Association.
An anonymous survey of over 1,000 male and female professional footballers during the 2023-24 season found 68 per cent cited injury concerns as having a major impact on their mental wellbeing.
The PFA’s director of player well-being Dr Michael Bennett highlighted the lack of security offered by short-term contracts as to why injury can have such an impact on footballers’ mental health.
“Football is an incredibly insecure career for many of our members,” Dr Bennett said. “Players often find themselves employed in a string of what are ultimately very short, insecure contracts. For that reason, they can feel as if they have very little control over their futures.”
Other issues found to have an impact on players’ mental health included on-pitch performance (45 per cent), a fear of being dropped (41 per cent) and online abuse (28 per cent).
The data was released to mark World Mental Health Day, and comes during a period where the football calendar and the impact this is having on players is under increasing scrutiny.
In September, Manchester City and Spain midfielder Rodri suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, four days after saying players were “close” to going on strike due to the increasing number of matches in the football calendar. The 28-year-old played 4,327 minutes across 50 games for his club last season.
Global players’ union FIFPro has teamed up with several players’ unions in Europe — including the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) — to launch two legal challenges against FIFA over the football calendar and the decision to stage the inaugural Club World Cup next summer.
The 32-team competition takes place between June 15 and July 13 2025 and was described as a “tipping point” in the demands placed on players by player unions in Europe.
After a formal complaint was lodged in July by the European Leagues — a body representing professional football in over 30 European nations — alongside La Liga and player union FIFPro Europe over the “beyond saturated” schedule, FIFA responded by saying there had been “comprehensive and inclusive consultation, which included FIFPRO and league bodies” over the football calendar.
The women’s calendar has also been criticised and a lack of rest periods between international tournaments concluding and domestic seasons beginning has been cited as a particular concern. The game has long been plagued by ACL injuries, with five of the 20 nominees for the 2022 Ballon d’Or Feminin sustaining an ACL injury in 2022.
In January, England captain Leah Williamson, who missed the 2023 World Cup due to an ACL injury, warned the “unsustainable” calendar would stunt the growth of women’s football due to the volume of long-term injuries it contributes to.
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)
