‘Someone is not doing their job’: Mandatory medical screenings missed at Women’s World Cup
National football federations have been criticised for “not doing their job properly” after it was revealed nearly a quarter of Women’s World Cup players did not have an electrocardiogram (ECG) and 10 per cent did not receive any pre-tournament medical examinations despite the screenings mandated in tournament regulations.
A survey from the world players’ union Fifpro, which included responses from 260 players who took part in this summer’s tournament from 26 of the 32 participating teams, highlighted concerns that many international women’s players are not being afforded the same provisions as their male counterparts.
They found that 22 per cent of players had no ECG, while 60 per cent of players added that they felt they lacked mental-health support during the tournament, which was held in Australia and New Zealand from July 20 to Aug 20 and was won by Spain.
Dr Alex Culvin, Fifpro’s head of strategy and research for women’s football, described the ECG numbers in particular as “very, very concerning”. Culvin said: “Anything that’s less than 100 per cent means someone is not doing their job properly.
“Fifa’s regulations set out a medical and within that there is a requirement for an ECG so it’s something that we’re really pressing for, and it’s something we’ll continue to collect data on and to push Fifa on, to push their federations on. Once Fifa set out the regulations it’s up to the federations to meet the required regulations. It’s very, very disappointing that those statistics are not at 100 per cent.”
Fifa has been contacted by Telegraph Sport for a response.
Prior to the tournament, Fifpro and Fifa negotiated equal conditions for men’s and women’s players at World Cups, covering everything from accommodation, to staff support numbers, to transport, including an agreement that all players will fly in business class to and from the World Cup for the first time.
However, the survey has also found that only 94 per cent of players flew in business class to the tournament, and that dropped further to 80 per cent for return flights home after the campaign.
Additionally, a majority of players who responded to the survey also raised concerns about their lack of rest either before or after the campaign, with 53 per cent of players saying they felt they did not have enough rest before their first World Cup match and 60 per cent feeling that their post-tournament rest was insufficient. On top of that, 86 per cent said they had less than two weeks of rest before rejoining their club.
That has been a topic of intense debate in the women’s game in recent years and months, with national teams - including England - and clubs disagreeing over the release dates for players in the build-up to the tournament, amidst concerns around a congested global calendar. In September, Lionesses defender Jess Carter lamented the “ludicrous” lack of rest some England players had after reaching Aug 20’s final.
