UEFA have announced this week that they’re going to tackle the ACL injuries in women’s football , launching a new initiative to better understand the injury, and therefore hopefully aid clubs in taking steps to prevent them.
In a statement they commented that this specific type of injury within women’s football has been the “subject of attention for a long time” and is something the UEFA women's health expert panel are urgently looking to examine.
This will be done via a distinctive panel of “internationally renowned experts and researchers” who aim to “better understand" ACL injuries in women’s football and their "prevalence" in the game.
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The group have kickstarted their work by releasing an ACL injury awareness questionnaire to people within the women’s football sphere, from players, coaches, physicians, physiotherapists, and family members, “with the aim of gathering more insights and addressing the unique needs of each segment of that community.”
Long term, there’s a vision for UEFA to publish a consensus on ACL injury prevention and management, as well as an updated ACL injury prevention programme, by the summer of 2024.
The initiative will have a sole and direct focus on women’s football, although it will be part of a broader awareness campaign on the ACL injury as whole, to be released in the latter half of 2024.
Speaking on the announcement of the third UEFA Football Doctor Programme workshop in Zagreb, UEFA Chief Medical Officer Zoran Bahtijarevic said that this was “crucial” for both the “wellbeing of athletes and the advancement of the sport.”
"UEFA's proactive step in establishing a panel of experts reflects a commitment to understanding and reducing these injuries in the future,” he said.
“The questionnaire will aim to gather insights and current awareness, but also to collect robust data to be used as the basis of our consensus and prevention program.
"The collaborative effort from the football community is extremely important, and the hope is that this initiative will foster a safer and more sustainable future for women's football worldwide.”
