Abstract

Objectives: To describe the running load demands and fixture congestion of English Premier League (EPL) teams from seasons 2015/2016 to 2024/2025. Methods: A total of 3750 games across ten seasons were analysed for team total distance (TD), high-intensity distance (HID; >5.5 m/s), high-speed running distance (HSR; 5.5–7 m/s) and sprint distance (SprD; >7 m/s). Matches were tracked using semi-automated systems; TRACAB (2015/2016–2018/2019) and Second Spectrum (2S; 2019/2020–2024/2025). Match minutes (Wyscout) were used to calculate total and congested minutes per season. Results: Significant small to large increases (all p<0.001) were observed in team TD (effect size (ES): 0.56), HID (ES: 1.79), HSR (ES: 1.67) and SprD (ES: 1.61), along with moderate increases in per-minute metrics for HID/min (ES: 1.55), HSR/min (ES: 1.41) and SprD/min (ES: 1.46) between 2015/2016 and 2024/2025. TD/min (ES: −0.27) showed a small decrease. Trivial to moderate differences were found in season-to-season comparisons for TD (p<0.05; ES: −0.65 to 0.81), HID (p<0.05; ES: 0.16 to 0.47), HSR (p<0.05; ES: −0.17 to 0.55) and SprD (p<0.05; ES: 0.19 to 0.26). Rolling 3-season total (+1600 min) and congested (+1415) match minutes increased for all players between 2015/2016 and 2024/2025. A higher increase was seen for the top six team players’ total (+5659) and congested (+2003) minutes. Conclusion: Running load demands (TD, HID, HSR, SprD, HID/min, HSR/min and SprD/min), total match minutes and congested minutes have increased over the last decade. The top six teams are exposed to more total and congested minutes than other teams. Continuous monitoring of player responses to these increased demands is essential to better understand the potential impact on player health, especially those with more exposure.