As Euro 2025 Nears, A Study Shows The Impact Of Period Pain On Women's Soccer
Spain is home to some of the best women's players.
Now most of the leagues are over for another year—and English team Arsenal is the queen of its continent—some of the best women's soccer stars are narrowing their focus towards Euro 2025. The contest, taking place in Switzerland, starts on July 2 and concludes on July 27.
As always, it's a window to enjoy some top-level sport. And to shine a light on women's unique experiences in the game—easy to momentarily forget as you get lost in the action of a major tournament. One of them, which doesn't get much air time, is menstruation.
Wednesday was Menstrual Hygiene Day, on which FUTPRO, an association for female soccer players in Spain, published a study about the impacts of periods on such athletes. Carried out with the help of Cyclo, a company specializing in menstrual health, it touched base with more than 40% of Spanish women playing professionally (Spanish).
Of those interviewed, 75% said period pains have affected their on-field performance. Akin to that, it discovered that, in 77% of cases, clubs have never helped players adapt their training sessions during the monthly cycles. Meanwhile, 92% of interviewees indicated they had previously been afraid of staining their clothing when playing and subsequently felt stressed.
Spain's women are looking to win back-to-back tournaments this summer after lifting the World Cup in ... More 2023.
The main takeaway is soccer organizations need to become more knowledgeable about the subject while having structures to support players. There have already been plusses, like the United States making the most of sports science recommendations en route to winning the World Cup in 2019 and England's women securing a switch to dark blue shorts after fears of wearing white on their periods in 2023. Further progress depends on continued activity.
Many names across elite soccer, from Barcelona's Fridolina Rolfö (Spanish) to Manchester City's Mary Fowler, have spoken openly about periods in their profession. At the club level, Arsenal teamed up with detergent brand Persil to normalize periods and encourage players to keep playing in February. Manchester City spotted a similarly valuable campaign, announcing a partnership with period underwear label Snuggs a month later.
Of course, the highlighted research only uncovers the situation in Spain (although it's a women's soccer powerhouse), with much of the discourse around the effect of menstruation on talented individuals' performance. When you consider clubs in less developed nations and humbler grassroots teams everywhere probably offer much less period-focused assistance, it shouldn't just be about having the apparatus to raise the soccer quality at the highest echelon but prioritizing happy players across the board first.
There are various forces here. Snowballing in marketability and status depends on the standard of the product. But that can't only happen in training complexes; it must coincide with specialist attention towards women's players: support during periods, tackling the recurrence of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries, and insecurities around body image are a few talking points.
Soon, the games will take center stage. Spain is among the favorites to win Euro 2025, with England the reigning champ and a combined €41 million ($47 million) in prize money distributed. The competition could also reach a sizeable audience across the Atlantic in the U.S. after Fox Sports put 19 games on its schedule. However, as per the findings mentioned, what goes on behind the scenes merits equal attention.
For associations like FUTPRO, improving players' well-being comes before the spectacle.
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