jamesrash89

[jamesrash89]

Football’s frenetic schedule is draining my enthusiasm

Lately, I’ve found myself feeling overwhelmed by the relentless pace of football. Since I was 7, I’ve taken great interest in how teams from across different leagues perform as well as international tournaments. Yes, I’m an Arsenal fan but I remember Manchester City's dramatic second division playoff final victory over Gillingham in 1999 as well as following Leeds United’s Champions League run in 2001.

Now, yes, I appreciate I am older and have much less time to invest, and I also have more important responsibilities (and priorities). However, instead of savouring each match, I’m now fatigued by how many there are. For the last round of Champions League fixtures, I didn’t even check who was playing on each night. The constant barrage of matches has taken something special and made it feel routine, or simply irrelevant.

It’s not that my love for the sport has waned. I still love taking about it with friends and family. In fact, most of my family will come to me if they have a football question and also feel obliged to talk to me about it out of politeness. Yet unfortunately, the commercialisation of football has turned it into an endless conveyor belt of fixtures. There are (arguably) too many competitions, international breaks come and go, and players are shuttled between club and country with little to no rest. What was once a thrilling journey from one weekend to the next now feels like an overwhelming flood of matches to keep up with.

Perhaps the biggest issue with this is that it’s not just fans feeling the effects; the players and managers are clearly struggling too. We’ve seen injuries spike and fatigue set in as they grapple with the demands of an unrelenting schedule. The quality of play inevitably suffers, leaving us with fewer moments of brilliance and more matches that feel like going through the motions. This constant, high-stakes treadmill is wearing down the players just as much as it’s wearing down those of us who watch.

Football has always been about passion, community, and unforgettable moments. Unfortunately though, as the game becomes more saturated and commercialised, I worry that these moments are harder to come by. I want to love every match, every minute. If I am honest, I just feel exhausted. I can’t help but think that football needs to slow down, if only so many of us have the time to remember why we fell in love with it in the first place.