Young football players are starting to learn the game, train, and play matches earlier and earlier in life. By the time some kids are seven-years-old, it isn’t uncommon for them in countries such as England, the United States, or Australia to be playing five days a week in training and matches. It isn’t difficult to find many of these youngsters playing for multiple teams and competing in age groups above their own.

So, how much football is too much for players?

That is an important question as overuse can cause injuries and can prevent youngsters from participating in other non-football activities.

One of the chief problems that footballers have today is the pressure that is being put on them from a young age. This includes training sessions being hard and more demanding resulting in physical and mental health issues.

Overtraining can be a major issue and players can exhibit several signs when it comes to playing too much. These signs may include:

• Slower times running times
• Poor execution of play
• Inability to achieve training goals
• Lack of motivation to practice
• Tiring easily
• Short tempers and unable to cooperate with teammates

One of the biggest issues is coaches, parents, and even players, and their reactions being negative to overtraining. Rather than resting players, the idea is to push harder and make the player train more. This adds to the pressure and can cause a physical breakdown.

It isn’t just young footballers that overtrain. Even professional footballers can overdo it thanks to the training and massive amount of fixtures throughout a club and international season. A top player could appear in more than 60 games for club and country in a given year.

That is one football match every 6.08 days. That is a lot of football and it doesn’t take into account the training that goes along with it. Football players need to take breaks and rest for both mental and physical well-being. While training hard and developing is a good thing, overtraining and playing too much can be detrimental to being a good footballer.