PROJECT PARTNERS
Federação Portuguesa de Futebol
FUNDING
None
BACKGROUND
Professional football involves a high degree of athletic ability with extreme physical demands placed on players. Through this, playersare exposed to a high risk of injury. The prevention of injuries in sports in general and football in particular, has been researched over the past decades. This had led to a wide array of efficacious preventive measures for various injuries. However, real-world implementation and effective use of this evidence lags behind.
Focused and effective injury prevention starts with a description of the injury problem. To understand the injury problem, however, in the first step of the sequence of prevention a broader research focus is needed. Looking not only at the isolated injury, but also at the underlying behavioral factors, taking into account the athlete and his / her context. Based on this reasoning, the players’ context should be explored to better understand the injury problem of players’ who perform in a professional environment.
OBJECTIVES
This project aims to – through a qualitative study – explore the narrative of professional female footballers and stakeholders (i.e. coaching, medical staff, strength & conditioning coaches) in regard to injury, injury prevention and implementation of preventive measures in professional female football.