FIFA 11+: Reducing injuries in soccer players

Soccer is the most played sport worldwide, with around 400 million players. Most injuries occur in the lower limbs particularly ankle sprains, knee ligament sprains & pulled hamstring. The majority of these injuries occur within the first 15 minutes of the game and are mainly attributed to poor warm-up, muscle fatigue and imbalance.

FIFA 11+ injury prevention program was developed to address the injuries. It includes 15 exercises following a specific sequence for a total of 20 minutes. The program should be done at least twice a week for over 10-12 weeks to optimise benefits and results.

Study:

Total sample size of 6,344 players were split into intervention group or control group

Intervention group had 779 injuries

Control group 1,219

Conclusion:

The FIFA 11+ program is an effective injury prevention program. It has shown to reduce injury occurrences by 30%

Note:

The study also highlights the importance of qualified trainers or professionals monitoring the program to maintain effectiveness.

References:

Sadigurskly et al. (2017) The FIFA 11+ injury prevention program for soccer players: a systematic review