The European Club Association has expressed concern over the number of 'alerts' from its members regarding the early call-up of players for national team duty ahead of the Women’s World Cup.
Under the mandatory release periods established within the FIFA international match calendar, the earliest national associations can take players ahead of the showpiece tournament in Australia and New Zealand is 10 July.
The ECA said players being called up before this date, with some instances as early as May, would mean insufficient time for adequate rest before the World Cup begins on 20 July and then following its conclusion as clubs prepare for the 2023-24 season.
Lack of proper rest from being called up early "evidently contravenes the protection of players' health and wellbeing", the ECA added, which must "always be a priority" and respected by all stakeholders.
The ECA’s new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FIFA runs until the end of 2030, and recognises ECA support for the new international match calendar approved by the FIFA Council.
The MoU plays a crucial role to the functioning of the club-country relationship as it governs the release of players for international dates.
The ECA said it would seek to collaborate with FIFA in working with the national associations on not requiring players to report for duty before the World Cup mandatory release period starts.
ECA head of women’s football Claire Bloomfield said: "This is not a matter of financial compensation or the absence of adequate protection and insurance, but a serious concern for player welfare.
"The issue of early call-ups is a hangover from the game in its amateur form and is detrimental to the future success and growth of women’s football. They also generate a great deal of unnecessary tension in the relationship between clubs and their players.
"We were given a very clear mandate by our member clubs which includes engaging in constructive and direct communication with our key stakeholders and partners, and this will be our focus in the coming days."
The Republic of Ireland begin their campaign against co-hosts Australia on the opening day of the tournament.
The Women's National League Premier Division takes a break between 10 June and 19 August while the season for the English Super League season finishes on 27 May and the FA Women's Championship concludes this weekend.
Chelsea manager Emma Hayes, speaking on the eve of her side's Women’s Champions League semi-final second leg in Barcelona, called for more "strict, stringent restrictions" on international windows.
"I think we have to reflect on the number of injuries that have taken place in the women’s game and say ultimately, the duty of care we have to players and I think there’s a valid argument to sticking to (international) windows," she said.
"There’s a reason and a rationale for those windows because, especially in the last three years, players have had so little rest – maybe a couple of weeks at the end of the season, it is not enough.
"I can’t speak for this upcoming tournament. I’m not involved in those decisions being made. But I do think that as the women’s game has progressed from the amateur game into a professional game that there has to be more strict, stringent restrictions on that for player welfare because I respect they want to win their tournaments but we seriously have to look at players having more rest."
