According to a recent report, football players in Bundesliga, Germany’s primary football league, are most likely to sustain an injury out of Europe’s top five domestic leagues. However, the Premier League has the most injury-related costs.
During the 2023-24 season, the Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A had a combined total of 4,123 injuries. The number of injuries has only increased between 2020 and 2024.
Last season alone cost the clubs a combined total of 732 million euros. This money was paid to players who were unable to feature due to an injury. Since 2020, there have been 14,292 injuries (excluding COVID-19). The report covers player welfare which includes injuries. The new “overloaded” international fixture calendar created by FIFA is causing increasing concern amongst some due to the significant increase in injuries and injury-related costs.
Head of Sport at Howden, which created the report, said: "As fixture congestion intensifies with expanded competitions domestically and internationally, we are seeing more players sidelined for longer periods, with a notable 5% rise in injury costs this season alone [from last season].” The report also shows that the seriousness of the injuries that top players under 21 have suffered from has also increased. These types of injuries prevent players from competing for more than forty days. The number of knee injuries in all age groups has significantly increased.
The report said, “it would be fair to expect a continuation of this upwards trajectory.”
European Leagues, FIFPRO and LALIGA recently argued that FIFA has violated European competition law in terms of the international fixture calendar. In June, the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) took legal action against FIFA because it believed that the fixture calendar was “overloaded and unworkable.” The French players’ union also took legal action alongside the PFA through the Brussels court of commerce.
