A three-year project was launched on Tuesday, 30 April, to accelerate research into reducing Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injuries and increasing player availability. The research will focus on players at Women’s Super League clubs in England after which the project partners will develop best practice for players worldwide.The project is a collaboration between FIFPRO, the Professional Footballers Association, Nike, and Leeds Beckett University. Sky Sports News’ Geraint Hughes reports on the scale of the issue of ACL injuries in women’s football and the creation of ‘Project ACL’ 🔍 pic.twitter.com/cT9f4shd9O— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 30, 2024 ACL injuries are two to six times more likely to occur in women than men, and about two-thirds of ACL injuries occur in women’s football when there is no physical contact, according to research. However, there is little understanding about how to reduce their frequency in professional women footballers, with most existing research and injury reduction programmes to date focusing on amateur players.Project ACL will take the following steps:A review of existing academic research related to professional women’s football, ACL injuries, and existing injury reduction programmes.A needs assessment of the multidisciplinary teams and structures of FA WSL clubs to better understand their resources and access to facilities.Real-time tracking of the workload, travel and ‘critical zone’ appearances of FA WSL players through the FIFPRO Player Workload Monitoring tool.##NAJAVA_MECA_8072604##Over the course of the three-year project, the partners will translate the optimum techniques and academic findings into clear strategies to support clubs and players to introduce best practice related to increasing player availability across the FA WSL.Project ACL will benefit not only English football but also players, clubs, and competitions around the world: FIFPRO and the project partners will make their findings available to all football stakeholders including FIFA and regional confederations.”The players have rightly called for more research into ACL injury, and Project ACL is a response to their needs and those of the industry more broadly. What makes this project stand out is it focuses on players in professional women’s football, and benefits from the collaboration of a wide range of stakeholders,” Dr. Alex Culvin, FIFPRO’s Head of Strategy and Research for Women’s Football, said. AFC Leopards and Gor Mahia slapped with massive bills after Mashemeji Derby chaosMaheta Molango, CEO of the Professional Footballers Association, said: “First and foremost, we view ACL injuries as being about the welfare of our members. As their union, it’s right that we take a proactive role in helping to improve understanding of the issue and ensuring that the care provided for players in the women’s game is focused on their unique needs as footballers. This project marks a significant step towards building player-generated insights to best protect players from ACL injury.” Dr. Stacey Emmonds, Reader in Sports Performance at Leeds Beckett University, said: “Most of the research to date on ACL injury in women has focused on single sex-based risk factors like the mechanics of female bodies. The research in Project ACL will look at the bigger picture to consider the gendered environmental factors that may influence injury risk in women’s professional football.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##
