Leah Williamson ‘doesn’t rule out’ strike over scheduling

England captain Leah Williamson said she would “never rule out” strike action to get players’ messages to governing bodies about scheduling concerns.

Williamson (28 years old) missed five months due to injury after England won the 2025 European Championship, as she recovered from knee surgery.

She returned to action at the beginning of December, helped Arsenal win the Women’s Champions Cup in February, and was selected for this month’s World Cup qualifiers.

Williamson is one of several popular players still returning to full fitness following England’s success in Switzerland, along with Chelsea’s Lucy Bronze.

Speaking ahead of England’s match against Ukraine on Tuesday, March 3 (17:00 GMT), Williamson was asked about the possible causes of the injury.

“We’ll never know for sure, but I don’t think people are arguing against scheduling for fun. There are reasons why,” Williamson said.

“If you listen to the group of players, of course we want to play all the time, but the more successful you are – and this team has been very successful – the less rest you get and the greater the risk of injury. It’s an accumulation.

“I’m sure the players love to come and play football, but we use our voice and try to participate in conversations with the hierarchy so they at least have our point of view. Whether they listen to it or not is out of our control.”

Players’ union FifPro released a report, external In November, she said that last year was the first time since she started collecting data in 2020 that the world’s top 15 players played 50 or more matches in a season.

England midfielder Keira Walsh has previously urged governing bodies to “listen to the players” over the busy fixture schedule.

Asked if Williamson might consider taking tougher measures, such as hitting players, she said: “I haven’t had any conversations about it at the moment, but if a group of people don’t feel they’re being heard, history suggests that’s the only way they can be heard.”

“I would never take it off the table. I don’t think that’s where we are now. I think we’re still in a place where we can collaborate, listen and educate.”

Williamson also revealed that the players were “ready” to provide stakeholders with the training load and female health data.

“It’s mainly about rest periods and trying to get all the administrative bodies to coordinate. It always seems like we’re asking for a holiday, but that’s not the case,” she added.

“I’m a professional footballer and part of my job is to rest too, which is what my manager and the environments we play in encourage me to do.

“So why is this not prioritized when we are left to our own devices?”