The international football schedule has come under much criticism recently. It is fair to say that the current schedule is not liked by too many people, and there are plenty in the game who would love to change things around
This may be a small change, but could also be a big one, such as the plans for a World Cup every two years, which are currently being discussed, although there doesn’t appear to be too much support for that.
The biggest issue is a lack of continuity in football leagues, which doesn’t allow clubs, players and fans to really settle into the action without knowing that there is an international break on the horizon.
Too Much International Football?
A look at the Premier League schedule so far this season will show you just how tough things have been for teams looking to gain momentum. Those who have been struggling have not been able to get together as much on the training ground to work things out, because players have gone away with their international teams at the wrong time.
Teams played three games in August, before an international break took players away with their nations for three games. In September and the beginning of October, four games will be played by all teams. When they arrive back with clubs after the second international break, players will have plated a total of seven Premier League games and been away for six with their national team.
For anyone who is struggling, this makes changing things around and working on improvement very difficult. This point is especially key to those who are betting on the Premier League, and others that are like this. You need to know which teams are in form, and when teams can work on being better to improve their form and league positions. When using the best football betting sites, these should all be key elements of how you work out your selections as a punter.
Is There a Solution?
The simple answer for many people here will be to simply say that international football needs to be stripped back, with fewer games being played. That is not as easy as it sounds, and there is a lot of money for football associations via playing games, whether this is competitions to qualify for events or friendlies, which bring in vital revenue from TV companies and sponsorship.
So, with that in mind, the best way to approach this may be to look at when the breaks come and see if anything can be done to change that. Options here include moving breaks around, so the season can start properly without an early one, or possibly putting a couple of them together to make one bigger break.
The second option wouldn’t take players away any less but would mean they left once instead of twice.
Whatever it is, however someone sorts this, having two international breaks in the first seven games of the season is not going to help many clubs in leagues like the Premier League.
