Matt Maher: Schedule looks tough for those at the very top

Football, still not quite back on proper kilter following the three-month break forced by the outbreak of the pandemic, now has a winter World Cup to squeeze into its increasingly congested calendar.

Preliminary plans for next season, released this week, confirmed what an unusual campaign the 2022-23 campaign is likely to be.

The EFL will kick-off in late July, with the Premier League following on the first weekend in August. Both the latter and the Championship will pause two weeks before the World Cup begins in November before resuming at Christmas, a week after the December 18 final.

Leagues One and Two, however, will continue through the tournament, while the FA Cup final is scheduled to take place later than ever before, in early June.

Putting aside the considerable issues which will likely arise from running domestic leagues during the sport’s biggest competition, the impact on players will be significant.

Those who are regulars in their national teams have had very little rest since football resumed with Project Restart. The next close season will be shorter than normal due to the early start of the following season with the following summer likely to be even more compacted, as the option of pushing back the start of the 2023-24 isn’t really feasible owing to the European Championships taking place in Germany the following year.

It means that for international players, the next ‘traditional’ summer break is not likely to be until 2025.

Granted, we are talking about athletes typically in peak physical condition who are well remunerated for their efforts. But it is still quite the workload, which should prompt questions as to the possible impact on health, not to any knock-on effects on the quality of entertainment.

Of course, the notion less is more never seems to trouble the minds of football’s administrators. Why else would Uefa have expanded the Euros to 24 teams? Why are Fifa seemingly hell bent on delivering a biennial World Cup?

One certainty for the short-term future of football is we aren’t going to be short of it.