Insurance broker Howden has revealed that football clubs in Europe’s top five men’s leagues suffered rising costs from player absences and earlier peaks in injury occurrence due to Covid-19 last season.
Howden published its inaugural Men’s European Football Injury Index last week and revealed the significant associated cost to clubs of players testing positive for Covid-19.
The research found that there were 494 Covid-19 cases reported across Europe’s top five leagues last season, resulting in players being forced to spend time off the pitch and missing a total of 7,068 days at a cost of €48.2 million.
Across all leagues, players missed an average of 14.44 days every time they tested positive for the virus.
Italy’s top division witnessed the highest incidence of cases. As one of the European countries hit hardest by the pandemic, 37% of players in Serie A tested positive for the virus during the 2020/2021 season, costing €19.6 million in Covid-19 absences alone.
The index unearthed the rising injury numbers, severity and cost for the 2020/2021 season across Europe’s top five men’s leagues (English Premier League, the Bundesliga, Serie A, La Liga and Ligue 1), leading to a material financial impact to clubs when players were absent from matches through illness and injury—a statistic that Covid-19 has served to compound, according to Howden.
Key statistics from the index include:
- Injuries across Europe’s big five leagues were up 13.8% in the 2020/2021 season to 3,988 (3,504 in 2019/2020)
- Total injury cost to clubs in the top five leagues totalled €472.6 million, with the average cost of injuries per league at €94.5 million
- The English Premier League experienced the most injuries at 938 in 2021/21 and the highest injury cost at €155.9 million, behind second placed La Liga on €84.5 million
- Player position influences injury type and frequency, with defenders totalling the highest number, suffering 1,422 in all, with midfielders recording the highest injury costs at €165.6 million