Injury prevention in youth football (soccer): a comprehensive description of the development process of the ‘FUNBALL’ programme

Many football injury prevention programmes (IPPs) have been developed to target various injuries and populations. There was no specific IPP for youth players in place before. However, several existing IPPs designed for adults were also assessed in the youth population. All the existing ones face the...

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Main Authors: Tim Meyer, Karen aus der Fünten, Rilind Obërtinca
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMJ Publishing Group 2024-12-01
Series:BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
Online Access:https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/10/4/e002260.full
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author Tim Meyer
Karen aus der Fünten
Rilind Obërtinca
author_facet Tim Meyer
Karen aus der Fünten
Rilind Obërtinca
author_sort Tim Meyer
collection DOAJ
description Many football injury prevention programmes (IPPs) have been developed to target various injuries and populations. There was no specific IPP for youth players in place before. However, several existing IPPs designed for adults were also assessed in the youth population. All the existing ones face the challenge of long-term adherence even though efficacy has been demonstrated for many weeks to seasons. The main barriers to a successful long-term implementation of IPPs are time constraints and the lack of attractiveness for the players as they do not contain football-specific and motivating exercises. Increasing its attractiveness was the main aspect of designing the programme. To achieve this, a new approach was used. The ‘FUNBALL’ programme includes competitive, pair-based exercises and frequent ball use. It offers more flexibility as there is a choice between two different exercises for each category. It was developed through close collaboration between the research community, closely involved in real-life football, and the end-users. Tailoring IPPs to the preferences of end-users could mean a significant advancement on long-term adherence compared with previous programmes. However, further research is needed to assess this assumption.
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spelling doaj-art-ffc07c96b24e473f89f5299a344c1cb22025-08-20T01:58:42ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine2055-76472024-12-0110410.1136/bmjsem-2024-002260Injury prevention in youth football (soccer): a comprehensive description of the development process of the ‘FUNBALL’ programmeTim Meyer0Karen aus der Fünten1Rilind Obërtinca2Department of Oncology, University College, London, UK1 Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine, Saarland University, Saarbrucken, Germany1 Institute of Sports and Preventive Medicine, Saarland University, Saarbrucken, GermanyMany football injury prevention programmes (IPPs) have been developed to target various injuries and populations. There was no specific IPP for youth players in place before. However, several existing IPPs designed for adults were also assessed in the youth population. All the existing ones face the challenge of long-term adherence even though efficacy has been demonstrated for many weeks to seasons. The main barriers to a successful long-term implementation of IPPs are time constraints and the lack of attractiveness for the players as they do not contain football-specific and motivating exercises. Increasing its attractiveness was the main aspect of designing the programme. To achieve this, a new approach was used. The ‘FUNBALL’ programme includes competitive, pair-based exercises and frequent ball use. It offers more flexibility as there is a choice between two different exercises for each category. It was developed through close collaboration between the research community, closely involved in real-life football, and the end-users. Tailoring IPPs to the preferences of end-users could mean a significant advancement on long-term adherence compared with previous programmes. However, further research is needed to assess this assumption.https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/10/4/e002260.full
spellingShingle Tim Meyer
Karen aus der Fünten
Rilind Obërtinca
Injury prevention in youth football (soccer): a comprehensive description of the development process of the ‘FUNBALL’ programme
BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine
title Injury prevention in youth football (soccer): a comprehensive description of the development process of the ‘FUNBALL’ programme
title_full Injury prevention in youth football (soccer): a comprehensive description of the development process of the ‘FUNBALL’ programme
title_fullStr Injury prevention in youth football (soccer): a comprehensive description of the development process of the ‘FUNBALL’ programme
title_full_unstemmed Injury prevention in youth football (soccer): a comprehensive description of the development process of the ‘FUNBALL’ programme
title_short Injury prevention in youth football (soccer): a comprehensive description of the development process of the ‘FUNBALL’ programme
title_sort injury prevention in youth football soccer a comprehensive description of the development process of the funball programme
url https://bmjopensem.bmj.com/content/10/4/e002260.full
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