Experts assess how the FIFA break affects Brasileirão clubs | OneFootball

For the fifth and final time in 2025, the FIFA Date interrupts major competitions worldwide. In Europe, it is used for the World Cup Qualifiers, and in South America and other continents, for international friendlies, such as the Brasileirão, for example.

In the six main European leagues – England, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, and Portugal, the tournaments ended last Sunday and only return from November 21 or 22; in the Portuguese League, only on the 28th. In the Brazilian Championship, the games ended on the same day, but return on the 18th.

“We take advantage of the FIFA date to rest our minds a bit, but the body keeps moving. Even on days off, we follow a routine of light training, sleep control, and nutrition. It’s an important moment to recharge energy, but also to come back better prepared for the rest of the season,” says defender Vitor Reis, formerly of Palmeiras and Manchester City and currently at Girona.

As in other times when this occurred during the season, club technical staff usually give two to five days off to the squads, depending on the number of days available in the calendar.

Sports executives and sports medicine specialists consider these rest moments crucial not only for physical reasons but also mental, as the training and game period during the season is constant. Another factor considered extremely important is injury prevention.

André Cunha, CEO and Head of Performance at Volt Sports Science, explains that the FIFA Date period can be a moment of high risk for athletes called up by their respective national teams.

“For players who will be with their national teams, perhaps the break is always one of the most delicate and challenging moments. Because in this scenario, there are various types of stressors at the same time: usually, there are long trips, time zone changes, different training systems, and completely different training loads, in addition to the pressure of representing their national team. We understand it is a moment of great risk, so the idea is to do everything we can to minimize it. The moment is not to reinvent the wheel, and most of the time, the important thing is to do the ‘basics’: recover, sleep well, and eat in the best way,” he points out.

Regarding non-called athletes, the specialist highlights a “window of opportunities”, whose action plan will also depend on each athlete’s scenario.

“In the first analysis, it opens up the possibility for the athlete to have quality time outside football, with their family. This is also a necessity, as we are talking about a ‘psychological refresh’ to withstand challenges inherent to the routine. It is also an opportunity to give rest to the bodies of players who have been accumulating a lot of playing time. Regarding those in a scenario of pain or discomfort, it is a chance for us to bring a bit more interventions for pain management,” he adds.

For Natanael Sousa, physiotherapist and specialist by the National Society of Sports Physiotherapy and Physical Activity (Sonafe Brazil), there is a great possibility of injury prevention, because the period helps reduce the overload of games and training.

“The break during the FIFA Date is a complex issue because it depends a lot on the periodization and load control program of each team. From a physical point of view, it can be well utilized; the mental part should have a more individualized approach. Some athletes are returning from injury, others with a very large volume of games and overload. These really need to use the period to recover and reduce the load. The ideal is to have individualized attention, understand where each athlete is at, and create a specific journey to optimize this time without games,” the professional analyzed.

“If load control is well done, if the overload of those coming from an intense sequence is reduced and, at the same time, the load of those with lower physical valence is increased, if a strategy is set up to develop individual and collective capacities, all this positively impacts the team's performance,” he added.

According to Dr. Rodrigo Zogaib, Medical and Health Coordinator at Santos, the FIFA Date provides intervals that deviate from the traditional, which facilitates the necessary recovery processes.

“The passive recovery of athletes should be seen as an essential phase of the high-performance cycle. In the case of the FIFA Date, we have the advantage of being able to organize a smaller intercycle within a larger cycle, as we have two weeks of interval between games. This allows us to organize the training and rest load differently from periods when we have games and shorter intervals,” he highlighted.

Claudio Fiorito, president of P&P Sport Management Brazil, agrees with the opinions of health specialists.

“Often, the break is seen only as a moment of rest, but for clubs and athlete career management, it represents a strategic stage within the season. It is when physical, mental, and even contractual issues can be aligned, ensuring that the player returns more balanced and the club has a more prepared team for the rest of the calendar,” he said.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.