Lionesses are at risk of ‘potential burnout’, warns Georgia Stanway

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Georgia Stanway admitted England’s players are at risk of burnout, with the squad facing another summer of limited rest.

The Lionesses failed to qualify for the Olympics on behalf of Team GB but still face international camps in June and July due to Euro 2025 qualifying.

With some clubs also set to be involved in Champions League qualifiers in early September, many players will miss out on a full summer of rest.

Several members of the England squad have played in three back-to-back tournaments – the 2021 Olympics, Euro 2022 and last summer’s World Cup – while others played in youth tournaments before that.

‘When we didn’t qualify for the Olympics we thought it was the perfect opportunity to have the summer off, maybe travel a bit further,’ Stanway said.

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‘We realise it’s not quite as simple as that but the best thing we can do is work with countries and clubs to find the best solution.

‘Hopefully the best solution is giving us a good enough time of rest but also the most important thing is we want to qualify for Euro 2025 – we will do anything to put ourselves in the best possible position to go to that tournament.

‘It is a potential burnout but Football is our life. Everything we do is to be successful on the pitch.’

England boss Sarina Wiegman said they have asked FIFA and UEFA to look at the international calendar but conceded there is not much they can do until after 2026.

‘There’s no tournament so that should be an opportunity to get some rest, but because of the window in June and the window in July how are you going to take some time off?’ Wiegman said.

‘Then after that, there is some time off, in England the WSL starts later, but then round one of the Champions League starts in early September, which takes away the summer from the players.

‘That’s what we need to take care of and we’ve asked FIFA and UEFA to look at that and change that in the future so players can have some rest. It’s great that we have players that love football, but we have to take care of them too so we have to do something about the calendar.

‘We can’t change it so you’re trying to do the best to take care of the players and at the same time perform to the highest level and take out the highest risks of getting injured, in collaboration with clubs. The clubs and we as the FA don’t have any control over the calendar.’