We need to talk about the neglect of women's football.
First of all, it's nothing new that the lack of VAR in women's leagues is a big problem. We have witnessed several controversial moves or very clear situations that are no longer effectively observed and/or punished due to the lack of technology on the field. Once again, women's football loses out due to the mentality of leagues and federations that before having access to a basic tool like VAR, athletes need to prove their worth in order to gain a basic right.
Another thing we are tired of talking about is the exhausting schedule of competitions, many games in a row and almost no time for rest and recovery for the athletes. This crazy schedule has already taken many things away from many players, we have several cases of total ACL rupture in different leagues due to this lack of care from organizations towards clubs and especially towards athletes.
This morning it was reported that the Brazilian team's starting goalkeeper (Lelê) tore her ACL in the last training session that Corinthians did before the start of the season – which took place today –. And speaking of this game, I can mention another big mistake in organizing the games considering that the match was played at 10:30 in the morning with a thermal sensation of 39°C (103°F) and a scorching sun due to the Brazilian summer. This is completely cruel to the athletes who not only just returned to play, but returned in such terrible conditions. By putting a team to play in these conditions you expose your players to various possibilities such as dehydration, sun exposure, skin burns, loss of physical conditioning, exhaustion and several others that I prefer not to mention.
Situations like this make me sick and someone needs to do something about it. It can't continue like this.
Saliba post-match interview | Arsenal - Liverpool, FA Cup, 7.1.2024
"We have to stick together. We know we’re not in our best moment, but we won’t give up and we’ll come back even stronger… We will work a lot during this break, we will breathe a little bit. We will stick together & come back stronger, and better".