Breaking point: Fatigue and behavioral edges in global football tournaments

Purpose This study examines whether the intensification of the global football calendar over the past five decades is associated with the competitive and disciplinary character of major international tournaments. Design/methodology/approach Using an original dataset covering 1975–2024, we compile cumulative minutes played by the 50 most-utilized players each season and relate seasonal workload to goals per match, goal difference, yellow cards, and red cards via Poisson regression, with jackknife robustness checks, across the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, and the CONMEBOL Copa América. Findings Seasonal playing time has risen steadily over five decades. Greater workload is not significantly associated with average goals per match, but is robustly linked to smaller goal differences, more yellow cards, and fewer red cards. Originality/value This is the first study to link nearly 50 years of club-level workload data to the competitive and disciplinary dynamics of international summer tournaments.