TABLE OF CONTENTS01Welcome405Competition Landscape –Recent and Upcoming Changes02Key Findings606Evolution of Competitive BalanceAcross Top Football Competitions032023/24 Season Overview1007Individual Player Workload Journeys04Preparation for the Paris Olympic Games –Squad Comparison2008Methodology 28485664 Welcome to the 2024 Player Workload Monitoring report, focusing on the season 2023/2024, culminating at the ParisOlympic games 2024. In this report, we provide an overview of the season 2023/2024 through the lens of workload andplaying opportunities for players at both international and domestic level.This report is the fourth edition of the Player Workload Monitoring report. Following the FIFPRO 2023 Pathway to theWomen’s World Cup report, the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euros workload journey report and the 2021 FIFPRO Player WorkloadMonitoring Annual Women’s Report.What is captured within this report are consistent, but critical themes within professional women’s football. There areplayers who we have termed ‘high-usage’ who are particularly squeezed with the number of games, back-to-backappearances, and minutes played. However, concurrently there is a large proportion of players who are underloaded andare not playing enough competitive minutes. Meaning that a huge disparity exists within the industry between playersand their playing time.Whilst this disparity exists, the growth and expansion of domestic and international competitions are underway in someparts of the world. This report examines new and expanding competitions, placing them in a broader context of what thiswill mean for players, both in the category of high-usage and underloaded.For the eco-system of women’s football to develop sustainably, protecting players wellbeing and providing environmentswhere they can perform, with solutions built on evidence are required to inform decision-makers and supportplayer-performance and the development of women’s football globally.01WELCOMEStephane BurchkalterActing Secretary General, FIFPRO A CALL TO ACTION010203CONTINUED EXPANSION OF DOMESTIC ANDINTERNATIONAL CLUB FOOTBALL TO ADDRESSIMBALANCE IN THE CALENDARNEW AND EXPANDED COMPETITIONSSHOULD PRIORITISE CONDITIONS FORHIGH-PERFORMANCE ATHLETESMORE STANDARDISED PROFESSIONALISMTHROUGHOUT LEAGUES TO ADDRESSCOMPETITIVE BALANCETo ensure that professional women’s football continues to thrive, a calendar thatworks for all players is imperative. FIFPRO urges competition organisers to addressunderload as an issue for players. Domestic club football is paramount to the overallsustainability and competitiveness of the professional women’s game. It is evidentthat some competitions are expanding and developing, while others remainstagnant. FIFPRO urges competition organisers to prioritise the fragmented playingopportunities for underloaded players, providing more competitive opportunities forall players and affording them access to development and performance.FIFPRO asserts that as existing competitions expand and new competitions areintroduced, the conditions that are provided for players should be sufficient forhigh-performance athletes to perform, rest and recover. FIFPRO research indicatesthat while match and travel load are both increasing for players, they are not affordedthe conditions they require to perform. FIFPRO calls on competition organisers toaddress these issues, ensuring that they provide players with a platform to thrive.FIFPRO asserts that through purposeful investment and standardizing professionalcriteria, leagues would be more competitive, providing better commercial viability,sustainability and attractiveness to players. Clubs and leagues should continue toinvest and have regulated standards across the leagues in identified areas that wouldelevate the overall standards. FIFPRO establishes that regulation through CollectiveBargaining Agreements (and similar) creates environments where winning games andchampionships is possible for all teams as players thrive on and off the field. 02KEY FINDINGS0102032023/24 SEASON OVERVIEW: HIGH-USAGEPLAYERS ARE BEING SQUEEZED CONSISTENTLYUNDERLOAD IS AN ISSUE FORTHE MAJORITY OF PLAYERS2024 PARIS OLYMPICS PREPARATION: A STORYOF WORKLOAD DISPARITY BETWEEN TEAMSBased on the data collected for the Women’s Player Workload Monitoring (PWM) dataplatform over several seasons, it is evident that playing opportunities are notdistributed equally between players; there are players who accumulate a muchhigher number of matches in a single season and a larger proportion of players whoplay considerably less. While the best players in the world are highly sought after bycompetition organisers to play in their competitions, this contributes to calendarimbalance. Moreover, without mandated in-season and off-season breaks, the playersare the ones who are burdened physically and mentally.Underload is pervasive issue in professional women’s football. This issue is oftenoverlooked, yet it exists as a problem for a large proportion of p