Aitana Bonmati skips Spain friendlies as concerns over schedule congestion plague women’s, men’s soccer

Women’s World Cup and Ballon d’Or winner Aitana Bonmati will miss Spain’s friendlies this month in order to rest, a move that highlights the growing concern over fixture congestion in both women’s and men’s soccer.

“We have spoken with Barcelona and with Aitana and we believe what she needs is to rest,” Spain head coach Montse Tome said in a press conference on Thursday, per ESPN. “The national team have always looked out for the health of the players first. As a coaching staff, we comprehensively follow all players in all leagues and try to call up those that can be at their best.”

Spain will play friendlies against Canada on Oct. 25 and at Italy on Oct. 29.

Bonmati has had limited rest since the start of the 2022-23 season with Barcelona, during which she played 37 games across all competitions. She moved quickly from Barcelona’s UEFA Women’s Champions League win on June 3 to the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which kicked off on July 20. Bonmati was a crucial part of Spain’s first-ever Women’s World Cup victory, but less than a month after the final on Aug. 2023, she played in Barcelona’s opening game of the 2023-24 season.

The midfielder went on to play 41 games for Barcelona last season while maintaining her national team commitments, and had around a month and a half off before Spain played Euro qualifiers and in the Olympics over the summer. Bonmati then went a month without playing before the start of the 2024-25 season, and has already played five games for Barcelona.

Bonmati is the highest-profile player in the women’s game to skip this month’s international fixtures, but far from the first to deal with the downsides of fixture congestion. A handful of players in the men’s game did the same this month, with U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic missing the second of two friendlies to manage his minutes and Belgium’s Kevin de Bruyne opting out of international duty completely this month to rest.

Player welfare is a growing concern in both the women’s and men’s game as players struggle both physically and mentally to keep up with the unprecedentedly congested schedule. The continuing growth of women’s soccer has led to an increase in fixtures including in the NWSL, where two new competitions – the Concacaf W Champions Cup and the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup – were introduced this year. FIFA also has plans to kick off a 16-team Women’s Club World Cup in early 2026, one of several tournaments that were envisioned to mirror the men’s game. Clubs like NJ/NY Gotham FC have increased their high-performance staff in response to the jam-packed schedule, a move that suits many players who are concerned that the amount of resources needed may not be enough to handle a congested calendar.

The schedule is more packed than ever in men’s soccer, too. FIFA’s expansion of the Club World Cup to 32 teams, the first edition of which is scheduled to take place in the U.S. next summer, has become a major point of contention, though the UEFA Champions League’s expansion to 36 teams has also been criticized. Clubs and players have also complained about FIFA’s decision to transform the World Cup into a 48-team competition starting in 2026.

FIFPRO, the global players’ union, and the European Leagues recently took legal action against FIFA over what they describe as an “unsustainable” schedule, which they argue was made without their consultation. Players in the men’s game, including Manchester City’s Rodri, have also said that players are “close” to going on strike over the conditions.