Completing the Premier League season during the pandemic could put
footballers at risk of psychological burnout and injury, an expert warns.
The league could restart on 8 June but the risks to players could be serious, says Matthew Cunliffe, a sports psychologist at the university.
"It takes a war to stop football usually," he says. "Now they are considering a shortened season but there are potentially huge problems for players.
"There is the risk of psychological burnout because of the already-strong pressure of performance. You then add the risk of injury and the pressure to succeed. The players will be expected to play, and that is a huge burden.
"There are mental and physical challenges because the players haven't been training with the same intensity or engaging as a group in the same way.
"There's also the worry that your team-mates and the opposition and the officials could have this virus. Their livelihoods depend on their ability to play football, so there is the added problem of risk of illness, and with that, being left out of important matches.
"Physically, there's the obvious issue of fatigue because we're asking the players to play so often in succession. We already hear about fatigue causing injuries so it seems fair to expect more, because there will be less time for rest and recovery between games."
Matt adds that the long-term effects are unknown because the Covid-19 crisis is completely unprecedented.
"It is important to remember that players train for this and their sport science and medicine teams will be assessing all the possible eventualities to minimise the risk," he adds.
Matt says that one of the factors behind the postponement of the Olympics is athletes have said they do not want to put their health at risk.
"It seems fair to assume elite-level footballers will have a similar view," he says. "I'm putting some research together to explore the psychological effects of cancelling competitions on athletes of all levels.
"At present we know very little about the effects of this on athlete psychology and wellbeing. In the months to come I am sure we will begin to understand this novel phenomena that is affecting elite sports people."
Matt has worked with various GB Olympic athletes, as well as the British Wheelchair Basketball team, professional golfers, and regional and local sports clubs on sports psychology.
