FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Nations League - Quarter Final - Second Leg - France v Croatia - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - March 23, 2025 France's Jules Kounde misses a penalty during the penalty shootout REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/ File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) -France defender Jules Kounde has called for a reassessment of football's increasingly congested calendar, warning that the sport's excessive schedule is affecting not only players but the broader ecosystem around the game.
Speaking ahead of France's opening 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Ukraine and Iceland, Kounde said the relentless pace of fixtures was taking a toll.
"It's not just about the players," he told a press conference on Wednesday. "There are families. I also think about all the people who work around football and who are sometimes victims of this relentless pace."
France face Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland, on Friday and Iceland in Paris next Tuesday.
Kounde, who plays for Barcelona, did not feature in this year's expanded FIFA Club World Cup, which ran from June 14 to July 13 in the United States, but the 26-year-old still hinted at the tournament's impact on the already packed season.
Manchester City's Rayan Cherki and Arsenal's William Saliba have pulled out of the double header with injury while Paris St Germain forward Ousmane Dembele missed training on Tuesday because of a thigh injury.
PSG, who reached the Club World Cup final, played 65 matches in the 2024-25 season.
"It's a whole ecosystem," he said.
"Sometimes in life, when we overdo things, we stop appreciating them. When we see too much, we no longer give it the same importance. That's what's happening with football — it's overconsumption."
The inaugural 32-team Club World Cup added 63 matches to the summer schedule, prompting criticism from players and clubs over fatigue and injury risks.
Kounde urged football's governing bodies to reflect on the long-term sustainability of the current model.
"These are things we need to put into perspective," he said. "And I think they need to change."
(Reporting by Julien PretotEditing by Christian Radnedge)
