{"title":"What contextual factors influence pain management decision making concerning player availability in professional men's football? A qualitative analysis of practitioner perceptions.","authors":"Daniel Read, Craig Rosenbloom","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2024.2316093","DOIUrl":"10.1080/24733938.2024.2316093","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Football practitioners must regularly assess the risk of participation when determining player availability. At present, there is a lack of information detailing the factors that influence risk assessments. Accordingly, the following research question was explored: what contextual factors influence pain management decision-making when determining player availability in professional men's football?</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>20 semi-structured interviews were conducted with club doctors (8), physiotherapists (6), and heads of medicine and performance (8) working in professional men's football in the United Kingdom. The methodology is reported using COREQ criteria and data were analysed using thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three themes were created that explain how decision-making concerning analgesia was influenced by: (1) access to medical resources, (2) trust between staff and players, and (3) prioritising short-term success. First, the time, resources, and medical information available to staff impacted the ability to assess players and their risk tolerance in relation to analgesia. Second, decision-making was perceived as a multi-stakeholder process and the nature of relationships with players and performance staff could increase or decrease risk tolerance. Third, player decisions are made against a performance and working environment that privileges short term success over long term wellbeing.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The data support that pain management decision-making in professional men's football is influenced by the player and staff's working context. Further, practitioners viewed potential harm to a player from a socio-economic and physical perspective. These findings support the adoption of a patient-centred care approach and can inform clear recommendations from international and national governing bodies.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"140-151"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139718108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lorenzo Lolli, Pascal Bauer, Callum Irving, Daniele Bonanno, Oliver Höner, Warren Gregson, Valter Di Salvo
{"title":"Data analytics in the football industry: a survey investigating operational frameworks and practices in professional clubs and national federations from around the world.","authors":"Lorenzo Lolli, Pascal Bauer, Callum Irving, Daniele Bonanno, Oliver Höner, Warren Gregson, Valter Di Salvo","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2024.2341837","DOIUrl":"10.1080/24733938.2024.2341837","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The use of data and analytics in professional football organisations has grown steadily over the last decade. Nevertheless, how and whether these advances in sports analytics address the needs of professional football remain unexplored. Practitioners from national federations qualified for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ and professional football clubs from an international community of practitioners took part in a survey exploring the characteristics of their data analytics infrastructure, their role, and their value for elaborating player monitoring and positional data. Respondents from 29 national federations and 32 professional clubs completed the survey, with response rates of 90.6% and 77.1%, respectively. Summary information highlighted the underemployment of staff with expertise in applied data analytics across organisations. Perceptions regarding analytical capabilities and data governance framework were heterogenous, particularly in the case of national federations. Only a third of national federation respondents (~30%) perceived information on positional data from international sports data analytics providers to be sufficiently clear. The general resourcing limitations, the overall lack of expertise in data analytics methods, and the absence of operational taxonomies for reference performance metrics pose constraints to meaningful knowledge translations from raw data in professional football organisations.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"189-198"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-05-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140924223","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Viswanath B Unnithan, Mike King, Antonio Dello Iacono
{"title":"World Congress on Science and Soccer 2025 (WCSS 2025): encourage progress, enhance practice.","authors":"Viswanath B Unnithan, Mike King, Antonio Dello Iacono","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2498184","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2498184","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-3"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144058008","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Claire Mulvenna, Nic Evans, Abbe Brady, Alan McCall, Naomi Datson, Stacey Emmonds, Katrine Okholm Kryger
{"title":"A scoping review of the research supporting coaching practice in women's football - as the game grows the research strives to keep up.","authors":"Claire Mulvenna, Nic Evans, Abbe Brady, Alan McCall, Naomi Datson, Stacey Emmonds, Katrine Okholm Kryger","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2488525","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2488525","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this study was to scope the available peer-reviewed literature on competitive women's football, identifying and mapping the current research on supporting coaching practice in women's football. The study reviewed all women's football-related studies scoped by Okholm Kryger et al. (2021) for their relevance to coaching in women's football. Additionally, an updated search was performed from PubMed (1966-2023), PsycINFO (1967-2023), Web of Science (1900-2023), Scopus (1788-2023), SPORTDiscus (1892-2023) on 7 December 2023. The author, journal, title, and abstract of all included studies were scoped. Information extracted during the scoping process included: the population, playing level, age group, environment, study type, and geographical location of the research. A total of 373 articles were scoped. The publication topic most frequently researched was Performance Analysis - Physical (20%), followed by Performance Analysis - Technical/Tactical (18%) and Maturation/Talent Identification (13%). Most studies were focused on coaching senior players (<i>n</i> = 207, 55%) and elite football (<i>n</i> = 189, 51%). Despite the volume of research growing each year, it is noticeable that there are gaps in the research. Five topics only had a single figure number of articles (Teaching and Learning Strategies, Coach Education/Development, Socio-Cultural Experience's of Coaching, Coaching Philosophy, and Responsibilities/Role in Football). At present given there is a particular emphasis on certain playing levels, playing populations, and research topics, there is a dearth of information in certain areas. As such, researchers should work to ensure there is greater thematic depth as well as an increased volume of research in women's football.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144059452","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matthew P Shaw, Christoffer W Irgens, Eskil Børnes, Vetle S Skogseth, Christopher R Matthews
{"title":"'Measuring' methodological artefacts - thinking critically about surveys via knowledge of 'biobanding'.","authors":"Matthew P Shaw, Christoffer W Irgens, Eskil Børnes, Vetle S Skogseth, Christopher R Matthews","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2492628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2492628","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Surveys can efficiently generate big datasets, but they can misrepresent participants' understandings. Our article discusses the potential for surveys to produce 'methodological artifacts' when measuring complex phenomena, via a project exploring parents' understandings of biobanding in youth sport. Although 99.5% of survey respondents (<i>n</i> = 389) indicated that they understood biobanding, follow-up interviews with 11 participants revealed this to be spurious data. This contrast between survey and interview responses highlights the limitations of surveys in capturing nuanced understandings. We argue that this misalignment between the object of study and the chosen method results in findings are 'methodological artifacts' rather than reasonable representations of social life. As such, the study demonstrates how seemingly simple survey questions about biobanding were actually attempting to tap into the complex processes of human knowledge production. Around this finding, we build an accessible and practical discussion of research philosophy that leads us to caution against developing knowledge claims based on 'wonky' epistemological foundations. And we encourage colleagues to carefully consider how their chosen methods might usually frame but also misrepresent, or unduly distort phenomena under investigation. We conclude by calling for deeper reflection on methodological choices, particularly when research is guided by the constraints of academic structures rather than scientific principles.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-6"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144061302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ryan Baker, Bert Bond, Gareth Irwin, Sean Connelly, Genevieve Williams
{"title":"A systematic review of concussion education, knowledge, and attitudes in football.","authors":"Ryan Baker, Bert Bond, Gareth Irwin, Sean Connelly, Genevieve Williams","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2488521","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2488521","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Detecting concussion during football games is difficult due to the complexity of the condition. Medical staff may only enter the field to assess players when the injury is recognised by the referee. With no temporary concussion substitutions available, pitch-side testing often depends on medics recognising, or players self-reporting, symptoms. The aim of this review is to provide a summary of the literature examining the concussion education, knowledge and attitudes of players, coaches, medics, and officials in association football. A literature search based on PRISMA guidelines was conducted using PubMed, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science up to 12 January 2024. Papers were ineligible if the outcome of the survey or questionnaire was concussion incidence or over 50% of participants did not play football. A total of 21 studies were included. Of these studies 14 evaluated concussion education,11 evaluated concussion knowledge and 14 evaluated attitudes towards concussion. Study quality was assessed using the appropriate Joanna Briggs Critical Appraisal Tool. Results show that participants who have previously undergone concussion education have greater concussion knowledge. However, concussion attitudes do not appear to improve with increased concussion knowledge. Players are still likely to continue playing while injured in important games. Coaches, and officials have safer attitudes towards concussion than players. Consistency in participant groups and methods used to test knowledge and attitudes was low. All papers included suffer from medium to high risks of bias, therefore the strength of evidence is weak. Published research examining concussion knowledge, attitudes and education in football is limited.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-20"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144058578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Julia Donnelly, Stephanie Valentin, Chris Easton, Andrew White, Laura J Forrest Née Whyte
{"title":"Perceptions and experiences of the menstrual cycle amongst elite adult and adolescent football players.","authors":"Julia Donnelly, Stephanie Valentin, Chris Easton, Andrew White, Laura J Forrest Née Whyte","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2476485","DOIUrl":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2476485","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The purpose of this study was to investigate players' experiences and perceptions of the menstrual cycle (MC) and the perceived impact on performance. Female elite adult (<i>n</i> = 31, age 24.6 ± 5.1 years) and adolescent (<i>n</i> = 65, age 15.0 ± 1.1 years) players completed an online questionnaire consisting of quantitative and qualitative questions. MC symptoms were experienced by 90.1% naturally menstruating participants (86.9% adolescents and 93.6% adults (x<sup>2</sup> = 1.53, df = 2, <i>p</i> = 0.47, <i>n</i> = 92)), and 78.3% adolescents perceived their MC impacts performance, compared to 96.4% adults (x<sup>2</sup> = 4.54, df = 1, <i>p</i> = 0.033, <i>n</i> = 74). Physical symptoms, psychological symptoms and energy levels were cited as key reasons for the MC negatively impacting performance. Challenges in communicating MC experiences were reported by 44.92% (<i>n</i> = 23) adolescents compared to 20.0% (<i>n</i> = 6) adults (x<sup>2</sup> = 7.29, df = 2, <i>p</i> = 0.026, <i>n</i> = 82), with a perceived lack of knowledge, ability to relate and awkwardness cited as key reasons. Football players report wellbeing and performance impacts due to their MC, highlighting the need for individual understanding and support. Furthermore, understanding the experiences of adolescents enables the development of targeted support structures that equip them with tools to manage and communicate about their MC, and hopefully preventing issues as they become senior players.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143812964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jur J Brauers, Ruud J R Den Hartigh, Dorien Klooster, Frits G J Oosterveld, Koen A P M Lemmink, Michel S Brink
{"title":"The short-term relation between load and acute psychophysiological responses in football: a meta-analysis and methodological considerations.","authors":"Jur J Brauers, Ruud J R Den Hartigh, Dorien Klooster, Frits G J Oosterveld, Koen A P M Lemmink, Michel S Brink","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2476474","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2476474","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Relations between load and acute psychophysiological responses have been widely studied in football. However, due to the large heterogeneity in contexts, operationalization, and results, the direction and strength of these relations remain unclear. In this meta-analysis, we examine the relation between load and typical acute (i.e. within one week) responses - wellbeing, recovery, and heart rate measures - in football players from all football codes (soccer, rugby, futsal, American football, and Australian rules football). We consulted PubMed, Web of Science, and CINAHL up to the 19<sup>th</sup> of June 2024, and included 62 articles and 1,474 participants in the meta-analysis. Subsequently, we estimated 12 meta-analysis models and applied meta-regression models to explore the influence of several moderators. Significant relations were found between load and overall wellbeing (<i>r =</i> -0.33 [95%CI: -0.48; -0.19]), muscle soreness (<i>r =</i> -0.36 [95%CI: -0.49; -0.24]), fatigue (<i>r =</i> -0.41 [95%CI: -0.56; -0.26]), sleep quality (<i>r =</i> -0.21 [95%CI: -0.31; -0.10]), and stress (<i>r =</i> -0.16 [95%CI: -0.26; -0.06]). Given the high risk of bias, inconsistency (wide prediction intervals), and imprecision, the certainty in these findings based on the GRADE assessment is very low. Additionally, the high risk of bias scores indicates that the overall quality of the included studies is low. In conclusion, this meta-analysis provides comprehensive information on the acute responses of the athlete to load, and directions for improvement of the quality of future studies.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-21"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143756307","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Avinash Chandran, Neel Rao, Adrian J Boltz, Reagan E Garcia, Christy L Collins, Andrew Shafik, Evert Verhagen, Margot Putukian, Francesco Della Villa
{"title":"Knee and ACL injury rates in NCAA soccer players: an epidemiological study of 10 consecutive seasons.","authors":"Avinash Chandran, Neel Rao, Adrian J Boltz, Reagan E Garcia, Christy L Collins, Andrew Shafik, Evert Verhagen, Margot Putukian, Francesco Della Villa","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2476479","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2476479","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>There is a lack of epidemiological research on knee injuries and Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) tears among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) soccer athletes. To describe the epidemiology of knee injuries and ACL tears in NCAA soccer. We analyzed data captured within the NCAA Injury Surveillance Program during 2009/10-2018/19. We examined injury frequencies and rates by event type, division, and sex, and knee injury distributions by injury diagnosis, mechanism, history, playing position, and activity at the time of injury. We used injury rate ratios (IRRs) to assess differences in injury rates and injury proportion ratios (IPRs) to assess the differential distribution of injuries across explanatory variables of interest. Random effects Poisson regressions were used to identify factors associated with recovery. Knee injury and ACL tear rates generally centered around comparable values across the study period. Overall knee injury (IRR = 1.38; 95%CI=[1.24, 1.53]) and ACL tear (IRR = 3.10; 95%CI=[2.20, 4.35]) rates were higher in women's soccer, as compared with men's soccer. Competition-related knee injury rates were higher than practice rates in both groups. Knee injuries in men's (36.7%) and women's (38.7%) soccer were most often classified as sprains, and most commonly attributed to blocking/defending activities (Men's soccer: 15.4%; Women's soccer: 15.5%). Findings indicate a higher rate of knee injuries and ACL tears in competitions than in practices. Coupled with the results observed in women's soccer, these findings suggest that the risk of knee injuries and ACL tears in competitions and in women's soccer merit attention.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143659976","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Daniela Mifsud, Nic Acampora, Neel Rao, Andrew Shafik, Sean Carmody, Avinash Chandran
{"title":"Burnout in medical and performance professionals working in elite football in the United Kingdom: a pilot study.","authors":"Daniela Mifsud, Nic Acampora, Neel Rao, Andrew Shafik, Sean Carmody, Avinash Chandran","doi":"10.1080/24733938.2025.2476486","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/24733938.2025.2476486","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Despite the focus on the effect of burnout on athlete health and performance, understanding its impact on their support teams remains limited. Our primary aim was to investigate the prevalence of burnout amongst medical and performance professionals working in professional football in the UK.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this cross-sectional design study burnout risk was assessed using the Burnout Assessment Tool-23 (BAT-23).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 162 participants completed the questionnaire. The overall average burnout score indicated a low risk of burnout; however, half (42%) of participants had individual burnout scores indicative of being at risk or very high risk of burnout. There was no statistically significant relationship between profession and burnout risk. There was also no statistically significant relationship between burnout risk and number of years working in professional football.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study, conducted during pre-season, suggests that medical and performance professionals working in professional football in the UK are not at risk of burnout. Measures to continue to safeguard practitioners against the effects of burnout are proposed.</p>","PeriodicalId":74767,"journal":{"name":"Science & medicine in football","volume":" ","pages":"1-10"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2025-03-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143627032","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}