France Defender Kounde warns that the overcrowded football calendar hurts the ecosystem

France -defender Jules Kounde has called for a reassessment of the more and more busy calendar of football, warning that the excessive schedule of the sport will not only affect players, but also the wider ecosystem around the game.

Speaking for the first qualifications of France 2026 World Cup against Ukraine and Iceland, Kounde said that the ruthless pace of luminaires took a toll.

«It’s not just about the players,» he told a press conference on Wednesday. «There are families. I also think of all the people who work around football and who are sometimes victims of this ruthless pace.»

France is opposed to Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland, on Friday and Iceland in Paris next Tuesday.

Kounde, who plays for Barcelona, ​​did not play in this year’s extensive FIFA Club World Cup, which ran from 14 June to 13 July in the United States, but the 26-year-old still hinted at the impact of the already packed season of the tournament.

Rayan Cherki van Manchester City and William Saliba van Arsenal were pulled out of the double header, while Paris St Germain Forward Ousmane Dembele missed the training on Tuesday due to a thigh injury.

PSG, which reached the Club World Cup final, played 65 games in the 2024-25 season.

«It’s a whole ecosystem,» he said.

«Sometimes in life, when we exaggerate things, we stop appreciating anymore. If we see too much, we no longer give it the same interest. That is what happens to football – it’s over -consumption.»

The inaugural 32-teams Club World Cup added 63 games to the summer schedule, which brought criticism from players and clubs due to fatigue and injury risks.

Kounde insisted on the administrative bodies of football to think about the long -term sustainability of the current model.

«These are things that we have to put in perspective,» he said. «And I think they should change.»

Published on 03 September 2025