EWJ June 61 2025 web - Flipbook - Page 49
world are coming together with the aim to accelerating research into reducing ACL injuries in women’s
football. FIFPRO, the Professional Footballers Association and Leeds Beckett University, for example, have
joined forces to conduct an advanced research initiative which focuses on increasing player availability and
developing strategies to mitigate the risk of ACL
injuries.
What is being done to halt the ACL epidemic?
Training programmes
FIFA has already developed training programmes
(such as the 11+) that are designed to prevent ACL injuries and have been implemented by clubs and national teams around the world. Yet there’s still a drastic
need for female-specific programmes to be developed.
UEFA Expert Panel
In December 2023, UEFA made an announcement
that could well be considered a watershed moment for
women’s football — the introduction of an expert
panel dedicated exclusively to understanding and improving the health and wellbeing of female athletes.
New treatment plans and technologies
Recent breakthroughs in treatment plans and
technologies also provide promising and innovative
solutions for both preventing and managing ACL
injuries in women's football.
The central focus of this panel is to gain a deeper
understanding of ACL injuries among female players.
One notable innovation is the Bridge-Enhanced ACL
Restoration (BEAR) procedure. Unlike traditional
ACL reconstruction, which involves grafting tissue
from another part of the body, the BEAR procedure
uses a collagen implant combined with the patient's
own blood to promote natural healing of the torn ligament. This approach preserves the native ACL's
nerve and blood vessel structures, potentially leading
to better functional outcomes once healed and
reduced recovery times.
It has been reported that the long-term aim is to
publish a UEFA consensus on ACL injury prevention
and management, plus an up-to-date ACL injury
prevention programme. This research is currently
ongoing.
However, the panel recently launched ‘Unstoppable’
— a new six-year strategy which, according to UEFA
president Aleksander Čeferin, is UEFA’s “road map to
lay the groundwork for a sustainable future, unlocking the full potential of women’s football.”
Another significant development is the use of 3D
wearable sensor technology such as ViPerform AMI.
This enables real-time monitoring of athletes' movements, providing detailed data on functional deficiencies that may predispose them to ACL injuries. By
integrating this data into training programs, coaches
and medical staff can design personalised interventions for each player in order to improve strength, coordination, balance and flexibility, thereby reducing
the risk of injury.
As part of this strategy, UEFA has shown its commitment to addressing challenges such as those posed by
a women’s menstrual cycle by funding research into
the impact of menstruation in football and setting up
workshops to increase awareness of the menstrual
cycle and its impact on players.
Research
Grace Vella — Founder and CEO of Miss Kick — told
us that “the most important thing that needs to be
done right now is the research. In the past, sport science and its findings has predominantly been based
around the male anatomy and physiology.
Virtual reality technology and robot-assisted rehabilitation have also enhanced the precision and effectiveness of rehabilitation exercises. These technologies
make rehabilitation more engaging for patients, improving adherence to protocols and ultimately leading
to better recovery outcome.
It's only more recently, as the women's game has
grown, that we have started to consider whether
women and girls need specific equipment.
These advancements in treatment and prevention
strategies represent a significant step forward in addressing the prevalence of ACL injuries in women's
football, offering hope for safer and more effective
management of this all too prevalent issue.
Ultimately, the goal should be to ensure the player on
the pitch is as comfortable as possible and to minimise
her risk of injury. It'll be interesting to see what findings come out of the data over the coming years…”
Hopefully, 2025 will be a year of further positive
change for women’s football as we continue to see
strides forward in parity with the men’s game.
In light of this, FIFA’s commitment to funding
pioneering research into how hormonal fluctuations
could lead to an increase in ACL injuries marks a huge
step forward for women’s football and (most importantly) the wellbeing of players. In particular, the findings that are obtained from this study could lead to
groundbreaking tailored training programs and interventions that’ll act to reduce injury risks based on
individual hormonal profiles. This would be particularly helpful at non-elite levels, where clubs often operate without the financial resources of top-level clubs.
Other well-known organisations within the football
EXPERT WITNESS JOURNAL
Talk to us
We work closely with elite sports clubs, national
governing bodies, international federations and large
sports agencies both throughout the UK and around
the world.
If you need advice on the above or want to talk about
how the changing landscape of women’s football could
affect your club or playing career, our specialist sports
sector team is here to help.
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