If any of us were still looking for a reason not to have a biennial World Cup then the fixture scheduling around Qatar 2022 has given us it.
There are going to be all sorts of issues with players getting injuries and I’m envisaging some really strange performances when the tournament kicks off a year on Sunday.
The fact Premier League players will be joining up with next to no preparation and will then, if they go deep in the tournament, be back in domestic action just a week or so later is absurd.
And while nations such as England might have the finances and expertise to manage players’ workloads, we must remember that not every country is as fortunate.
Some of the African nations, for example, don’t have the huge physiotherapy, wellbeing and media departments the FA have.
They’ll simply be going to Qatar, playing and then sending their players back to their clubs with little appreciation of the toll that has been taken.
As a result, we’ll be given a glimpse into a future of more tournaments, more games and more pressure, and we’ll see how much more quickly players get overcooked.
Don’t get me wrong, the 21, 22 and 23-year-olds will be super-excited to be playing Premier League football one minute and a World Cup the next.
But these things catch up with players over careers if not managed properly and with a schedule like that one FIFA is putting quantity over quality.
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Then there’s the mental side of it all to take into consideration as well.
Harry Kane talked about the hangover from losing the Euro 2020 final last week, and imagine what it would be like if England were to lose the final next December, with players then expected to be back fit and firing again for their clubs straight after.
Arsene Wenger has talked about the positives of vying to win trophies and reach finals more regularly but that’s all well and good when you’re winning them.
But what if you lose two or three finals? What if you miss a penalty or get sent off and it’s perceived by some to have cost your country a trophy? What if you’re subjected to racial abuse as a result?
Wenger and Co are seeing only positives without considering the negatives.
When I played, we would have six weeks off between seasons and that would be enough time to rest physically and mentally, get time with your family, get some perspective, all very healthy things.
But if a schedule is 24/7 for 10 years then, over a career, there will be issues and we’ll be storing up massive problems for players in retirement because they won’t have had time to process anything until there’s a void in their lives.
I remember Steve Coppell saying it’s not what you do but what you don’t do as a professional sportsman.
When you’re away from the training ground, rest, relaxation and not being switched on 24/7 to the football matrix is just as important as what you do when you’re there.
So it’s dangerous for those who back a biennial World Cup to think such plans won’t come at a considerable cost to those we are supposed to be celebrating.
