Knowledge, attitude, and behaviour around concussion at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: part 1 - medical staff.

The objective of this observational cross-sectional study was to assess the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of medical staff participating in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 regarding the assessment and management of concussion in football. Medical staff from 32 teams qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 were invited to answer an online survey. Results were analysed descriptively. 47 participants completed the survey. Concussion knowledge: 98% were aware of concussion protocol(s). Most concussive signs or symptoms were recognised, though only 36% of participants (n = 17) correctly reported potential symptom onset time. Knowledge on assessment and return to play elements varied. Attitude: 77% (n = 36) reported being very confident or confident in recognizing a suspected concussion. When assessing a suspected concussion on the pitch, 55% (n = 26) reported to have felt pressured by the player sometimes, very often or always, and 47% (n = 22) by the coaching staff. Behaviour: Among doctors, 70% reported their national team performs baseline concussion assessments. Reported use of on-field assessment elements suggested in concussion guidelines varied between 5% and 95%. In conclusion, most medical staff participating in the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 were generally knowledgeable about concussion, reported on-pitch and return to play attitudes and behaviours aligning with evidence-based standards for safeguarding players' health. However, gaps were observed in all three domains, compared to guidelines. Expanding education to players and coaching staff is suggested to facilitate the delivery of evidence-based best practice.

Knowledge, attitude and behaviour around concussion at the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023: part 2 - coaches, performance staff and players.

The objective of this observational cross-sectional study was to assess the knowledge, attitude and behaviour of coaches and performance staff (i.e. 'coaching staff'), and players from the 32 teams qualified for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 regarding assessment and management of concussion in football. Two online surveys were developed: 1) coaching staff, and 2) players. The results were analysed descriptively. Eighty-four coaching staff and 229 players completed the survey. Concussion knowledge: 39% of coaching staff and 33% of players were aware of concussion protocol(s). Knowledge: concussion symptom onset time was correctly reported by 18% of coaching staff and 11% of players. Knowledge about risks related to sustaining a concussion or returning to play too soon varied in both groups. Attitude: 26% of coaching staff and 31% of players reported being very confident or confident in recognizing a suspected concussion. Half of the players (52%) reported to always report symptoms of concussion if feeling any. One (1%) member of the coaching staff and 24 (10%) players reported feeling that a player can return to play with mild symptoms after a concussion. Behaviour: Most coaching staff reported they would have supportive behaviour if faced with a suspected concussion on the pitch. Among players, 64% stated that they would leave the assessment to their team's medical staff, and 4% would encourage their teammates to keep playing. In conclusion, coaching staff and players showed limited knowledge about concussion. Most coaching staff reported attitudes and intended behaviour towards protecting players' health; whilst players' responses varied.

Broadening our understanding of injury mechanisms to include at-risk situations: an overview of potential injuries at the FIFA men's World Cup Qatar 2022TM.

This study aims to examine and describe the characteristics of potential injury situations during a men's professional international tournament quantified using the FIFA Football Language Medical Coding. A prospective study was conducted during the 64 matches of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™, during which five analysts recorded potential injury situations from video analysis. "Potential injuries" were recorded when players stayed down > 5 s and/or requested medical attention. Characteristics were further recorded for variables such as opponent's action and body location. In total, 720 potential injury situations were recorded of which 139 required medical assessment. The actions which resulted in most potential injuries were running while receiving a pass (74; 10%), while passing the ball (59; 8%), and while progressing with the ball (48; 7%). Duels and ball progression led to a potential injury in 3.0% and 2.1% of all similar actions in total. Both aerial duels and ball progression led to an potential injury that required medical assessment on 0.4% of occasions. Most potential injuries involved the head (149; 21%), foot (120; 17%), or lower leg (110; 15%) with most medical assessments of the head (35; 25%), lower leg (17; 12%), and knee (15; 11%) with a median duration of 47 seconds (IQR 28-61). This study provides a detailed overview of match circumstances that may have a higher injury risk. Although some variables within the coding system need improvement to increase reliability, its use will allow a more detailed comparison of differences between high-risk player actions leading to injury and those that do not, which can improve future prevention strategies.

Match Exposure, Consecutive Match Number, and Recovery Days Affect Match Running During International Women's Soccer Tournaments.

ABSTRACT: Brown, G, Massard, T, Wignell, T, McCall, A, and Duffield, R. Match exposure, consecutive match number, and recovery days affect match running during international women's soccer tournaments. J Strength Cond Res 38(3): 577-583, 2024-To determine the influence of tournament-specific factors (match exposure, consecutive matches, and days between matches) on match running in women's international soccer players (footballers), 28 players from 1 national team were observed over 4 international tournaments using 10 Hz global positioning system units. Linear mixed models with a forward selection approach were used to analyze the collective effect of tournament-specific factors of match exposure (playing time), consecutive matches (count), days between matches (count) and time on pitch on relative (min -1 ) match running metrics (total distance, high-speed running, very high-speed running, accelerations, and decelerations), and the change in these metrics between halves. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. Days between matches were included in the final models for total distance ( p < 0.0001), high-speed running ( p = 0.002), very high-speed running ( p = 0.025), and change in accelerations ( p < 0.0001) and decelerations ( p = 0.002). Prior match exposure was included in the models for total distance ( p = 0.021), change in total distance ( p < 0.0001), and change in high-speed running ( p = 0.0008). Consecutive match number was included in the model for deceleration ( p = 0.030), change in very high-speed running ( p = 0.016), change in acceleration ( p < 0.0001), and change in deceleration ( p < 0.0001). Time on pitch was included in the final total distance ( p = 0.044), high-speed running ( p < 0.0001), acceleration ( p < 0.0001), and deceleration ( p = 0.0003) models. Overall, reduced match running throughout tournaments was associated with increased time on pitch and ≤3 days between matches. Increasing match exposure and more time between matches minimizes reductions in match running between halves. Practitioners can use these variables to inform player monitoring during international soccer tournaments and on return to clubs.

Psychology research in women's soccer: a scoping review.

Previous research suggests that psychological factors play an important role in trying to explain and predict the participation, performance, and health of player and practitioners in soccer. However, most previous works have focused on specific research questions and included samples from male populations. As part of a larger Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) project aiming to steer women's soccer research, our purpose with this scoping review was to give an overview of the current state of psychology-related research within women's soccer. We searched five electronic databases up to April 2023, from which 280 original peer-reviewed articles met the inclusion criteria. Included records were inductively coded into 75 specific research topics and nine broader research categories. Population characteristics within each topic and category, and overall publication trends, were identified. The results revealed a growth in research attention, with notable increases in publication rates around the international competitions years, over the last two decades. While a notable number of abstracts did not report sufficient details about population age and/or playing levels, senior elite players were identified as the most common population studied. Most studies examined several topics from different research categories, with research focusing on emotions, moods and/or environmental factors, and the specific the topics of anxiety, stress, and coach behavior, receiving most research attention. Our study provides an informative mapping of all psychology-related research activity within women's soccer, which will enhance researchers' understanding of the current quantity of literature within this complex, heterogeneous, and growing area of research.

Monitoring Training Load and Wellness of Female Footballers Transitioning Between Club and National Teams.

ABSTRACT: Brown, GA, Massard, T, Wignell, T, McCall, A, and Duffield, R. Monitoring training load and wellness of female footballers transitioning between club and national teams. J Strength Cond Res 37(11): 2235-2240, 2023-This study described the change in training and match internal loads, plus perceptual wellness during the transition between club and national teams (NTs) for female international footballers (soccer). Session count, session rating of perceived exertion (s-RPE), and perceptual wellness data were collected from 42 players from 1 NT between 2019 and 2021 for 7 NT tournaments. Data were collated into 7-day (1 week) microcycles to compare the 2 weeks before the first week of NT (transition in: NT-2, NT-1, NT1); and separately from the final NT week to the next 2 weeks in clubs (transition out: NTFinal, NT+1, NT+2). Data were analyzed using linear mixed-models, with session count, s-RPE or wellness as the outcome variable, week as the fixed effect, player name, and tournament as random effects. Tukey's adjusted post-hoc comparisons and Cohen's d effect sizes (ES) were compared between weeks. Significance level was set at p < 0.05. During the transition into NT, training and total session counts increased (p < 0.0001, ES > 0.67), training s-RPE increased (p = 0.012, ES = 0.35), whereas match count and s-RPE decreased (p < 0.05, ES < -0.34). During the transition out of NT, there were decreases in training session count (p < 0.05, ES < -0.37), match count, and total session count (p < 0.0001, ES < -0.86), and match and total s-RPE (p < 0.0001, ES < -0.63). Perceived wellness was not significantly different throughout (p > 0.05, ES = -0.34 to 0.35). Thus, training and match exposures differ between club and NTs, demonstrating these unique transitional periods require simple and effective load monitoring to inform training and recovery prescription when changing between club and NTs.

Do non-contact injuries occur during high-speed running in elite football? Preliminary results from a novel GPS and video-based method.

OBJECTIVES: Understanding how injuries occur (inciting circumstances) is useful for developing etiological hypotheses and prevention strategies. The aims of this study were 1) to evaluate the feasibility of a method combining video and Global Positioning System data to estimate the speed and acceleration of activities leading to injuries and 2) to use this method to analyse the inciting circumstances leading to non-contact injuries. DESIGN: Retrospective descriptive study. METHODS: Injury inciting circumstances from 46 elite players over three seasons were analysed from video recordings and from external load measures collected through Catapult Vector S7 Global Positioning System. RESULTS: In total 34 non-contact injuries were analysed. Sixteen out of the seventeen hamstring injuries occurred when players were running for (median and interquartile range) 16.75 m (8.42-26.65 m) and achieved a peak speed of 29.28 km·h-1 (26.61-31.13 km·h-1) which corresponded to 87.55 % of players' maximal speed (78.5 %-89.75 %). Of the three adductor injuries, one occurred whilst the player was decelerating without the ball, one occurred whilst the player was accelerating and controlling the ball at knee level, and one occurred whilst the player was performing an instep kick. Two quadriceps injuries occurred whilst the players were kicking either whilst walking or running. CONCLUSIONS: From the preliminary results reported in this study most hamstring injuries occurred when players ran >25 km·h-1 and above 80 % of their maximal speed. This study suggests that this novel approach can allow a detailed and standardised analysis of injury inciting circumstances.

Flight Path and Scheduling Effects on Perceived Jet Lag, Fatigue, and Sleep in Footballers Traveling to and From National Teams.

PURPOSE: This study examined posttravel perceptual responses of national-team footballers (soccer) following different flight paths, arrival/departure times, and trip contexts. METHODS: Details of 396 flights from national-team players (N = 68) were obtained and verified via an online flight database. Each player provided ratings of perceptual fatigue, sleep, soreness, stress, and jet lag for 2 days before and after each trip. The flight path (continents of departure and arrival), travel context (into vs out of national team), and arrival and departure times were obtained for each trip. Linear mixed models compared the pretravel with posttravel change in perceptual responses based on flight path, context, and schedule. RESULTS: Perceived jet-lag ratings were more responsive to travel variables (R2 = .48) than other perceptual ratings (R2 < .26). Travel from Asia to Europe (P < .05) and Europe to Australia (P < .001) had significantly higher jet-lag ratings than all other paths. Fatigue scores were worst following Asia to Europe (P < .05) and Europe to Australia (P < .05) travel, while sleep scores were worst following Europe to Australia travel (P < .01). Perceptual responses were poorer following travel from national team to club compared with all other travel contexts (P < .05). Arrival during the daytime (11 AM to 5 PM) resulted in better perceptual responses than early-morning or late-night arrivals (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Perceived jet-lag ratings are more responsive to travel demands than perceptual wellness scales in national-team football athletes. Poorer perceptual responses may be expected when travel is longer in nature, ends later in the day, or involves travel out of the national team back to club.

Where are We Headed? Evidence to Inform Future Football Heading Guidelines.

Given the scientific and public concern regarding the short-, medium- and long-term consequences of heading on brain health, being proactive about developing and implementing guidelines that help reduce the burden (volume, impact magnitude and injury risk) of heading in young and beginner players appears justified. This narrative review explores the evidence underpinning strategies that could be incorporated into future heading guidelines to reduce heading burden in players across all levels of football. A four-step search strategy was utilised to identify all data-based papers related to heading in football. Eligibility criteria for inclusion were: (1) original data, (2) study population included football players, (3) outcome measures included one or more of the following: number of headers, measurement of head acceleration during heading, or head/brain injury incidence, and (4) published in English or English translation available. In total, 58 papers were included that outlined strategies based on (1) game or team development, (2) player skill development and (3) equipment. In particular, greater emphasis existed for small-sided games (particularly in young players) where fewer headers are observed when compared with the conventional 11 versus 11 game, as well as reducing headers from goal kicks and corners. Evidence also existed for developing a heading coaching framework that focusses on technical proficiency as well as neuromuscular neck exercises integrated into general injury reduction exercise programs, enforcement of rules related to deliberate head contact and using lower-pressure match and training balls. To mitigate potential risks of heading on brain health, a number of pragmatic strategies have been examined in scientific studies and may be considered as part of future heading guidelines.

Development of a Standardised System to Classify Injury-Inciting Circumstances in Football: the Football Injury Inciting Circumstances Classification System (FIICCS).

BACKGROUND: A comprehensive examination of the sport-specific activities and circumstances being performed at the time of injury is important to hypothesise mechanisms, develop prevention strategies and inform future investigations. Results reported in the literature are inconsistent because inciting activities are reported using different classifications. Hence the aim was to develop a standardised system for the reporting of inciting circumstances. METHODS: The system was developed using a modified Nominal Group Technique. The initial panel included 12 sports practitioners and researchers from four continents with respectively ≥ 5 years of experience working in professional football and/or conducting injury research. The process consisted of six phases: idea generation, two surveys, one online meeting and two confirmations. For answers to the closed questions, consensus was deemed achieved if ≥ 70% of respondents agreed. Open-ended answers were qualitatively analysed and then introduced in subsequent phases. RESULTS: Ten panellists completed the study. The risk of attrition bias was low. The developed system includes a comprehensive range of inciting circumstances across five domains: contact type, ball situation, physical activity, session details, contextual information. The system also distinguishes between a core set (essential reporting) and an optional set. The panel deemed all the domains to be important and easy to use both in football and in research environments. CONCLUSION: A system to classify inciting circumstances in football was developed. Given the extent of reporting inconsistency of inciting circumstances in the available literature, this can be used while further studies evaluate its reliability.

Understanding Training Load as Exposure and Dose.

Various terms used in sport and exercise science, and medicine, are derived from other fields such as epidemiology, pharmacology and causal inference. Conceptual and nomological frameworks have described training load as a multidimensional construct manifested by two causally related subdimensions: external and internal training load. In this article, we explain how the concepts of training load and its subdimensions can be aligned to classifications used in occupational medicine and epidemiology, where exposure can also be differentiated into external and internal dose. The meanings of terms used in epidemiology such as exposure, external dose, internal dose and dose-response are therefore explored from a causal perspective and their underlying concepts are contextualised to the physical training process. We also explain how these concepts can assist in the validation process of training load measures. Specifically, to optimise training (i.e. within a causal context), a measure of exposure should be reflective of the mediating mechanisms of the primary outcome. Additionally, understanding the difference between intermediate and surrogate outcomes allows for the correct investigation of the effects of exposure measures and their interpretation in research and applied settings. Finally, whilst the dose-response relationship can provide evidence of the validity of a measure, conceptual and computational differentiation between causal (explanatory) and non-causal (descriptive and predictive) dose-response relationships is needed. Regardless of how sophisticated or "advanced" a training load measure (and metric) appears, in a causal context, if it cannot be connected to a plausible mediator of a relevant response (outcome), it is likely of little use in practice to support and optimise the training process.

Development and Validation of Single Items for Fatigue and Recovery in Dancers.

PURPOSE: To examine the construct validity and reliability of 2 single items for fatigue and recovery in dancers. The construct validity was assessed using reference instruments: the fatigue items of the Brunel Mood Scale (BRUMS) and the Short Recovery and Stress Scale (SRSS). A secondary aim was to explore the respondent interpretation of these 2 items using a concept identification approach. METHODS: Two hundred forty-three (N = 243) dancers completed single-item fatigue and recovery (unipolar and bipolar), BRUMS, and SRSS once for construct validity. For reliability, 49 dancers completed the questionnaires twice, 1 week apart. Using a concept identification approach, 49 dancers were also asked comprehension and interpretation of fatigue and recovery. RESULTS: The fatigue item correlated with SRSS stress items (rs = .37-.51) and BRUMs fatigue items (rs = .63-.66). The recovery item was only partially confirmed in terms of construct validity, when using the SRSS recovery items as reference (rs = .39-.43). Reliability was confirmed for the single items of fatigue (κ = .77-.78) and recovery (κ = .71-.78). Main responses for the concept of fatigue were tiredness (34.7%), muscle soreness (17.3%), and energy (13.0%). Main responses for the concept of recovery were muscle soreness (43.0%), tiredness (27.9%), and fatigue (24.0%). CONCLUSION: We provide preliminary confirmation of the validity and reliability of the single item fatigue in dancers. The recovery item was only partially confirmed in terms of construct validity, when using the SRSS recovery items as reference, but did display acceptable reliability and agreement. Further research is warranted further exploring other measurement properties.

A Qualitative Study of 11 World-Class Team-Sport Athletes' Experiences Answering Subjective Questionnaires: A Key Ingredient for 'Visible' Health and Performance Monitoring?

BACKGROUND: Athlete monitoring trends appear to be favouring objective over subjective measures. One reason of potentially several is that subjective monitoring affords athletes to give dishonest responses. Indeed, athletes have never been systematically researched to understand why they are honest or not. OBJECTIVE: Because we do not know what motivates professional athletes to be honest or not when responding to subjective monitoring, our objective is to explore the motives for why the athlete may or may not respond honestly. METHODS: A qualitative and phenomenological approach was used, interviewing 11 world-class team-sport athletes (five women, six men) about their experiences when asked to respond to subjective monitoring questionnaires. Interview transcripts were read in full and significant quotations/statements extracted. Meanings were formulated for each interviewees' story and assigned codes. Codes were reflected upon and labelled as categories, with similar categories grouped into an overall theme. Themes were examined, articulated, re-interpreted, re-formulated, and written as a thematic story, drawing on elements reported from different athletes creating a blended story, allowing readers a feel for what it is like to live the experience. RESULTS: Overall, four key themes emerged: (i) pursuit of the ideal-self, (ii) individual barriers to athlete engagement, (iii) social facilitators to athlete engagement; and (iv) feeling compassion from performance staff. CONCLUSIONS: Our main insight is that athletes' emotions play a major role in whether they respond honestly or not, with these emotions being driven at least in part by the performance staff asking the questions.

Football-specific extension of the IOC consensus statement: methods for recording and reporting of epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport 2020.

Several sports have published consensus statements on methods and reporting of epidemiological studies concerning injuries and illnesses with football (soccer) producing one of the first guidelines. This football-specific consensus statement was published in 2006 and required an update to align with scientific developments in the field. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently released a sports-generic consensus statement outlining methods for recording and reporting epidemiological data on injury and illness in sport and encouraged the development of sport-specific extensions.The Fédération Internationale de Football Association Medical Scientific Advisory Board established a panel of 16 football medicine and/or science experts, two players and one coach. With a foundation in the IOC consensus statement, the panel performed literature reviews on each included subtopic and performed two rounds of voting prior to and during a 2-day consensus meeting. The panel agreed on 40 of 75 pre-meeting and 21 of 44 meeting voting statements, respectively. The methodology and definitions presented in this comprehensive football-specific extension should ensure more consistent study designs, data collection procedures and use of nomenclature in future epidemiological studies of football injuries and illnesses regardless of setting. It should facilitate comparisons across studies and pooling of data.

Travel Across More Time Zones Results in Worse Perceived Fatigue and Sleep in National-Team Footballers.

PURPOSE: This study investigated the association between (1) time zone difference and (2) travel direction (east vs west) with posttravel changes in perceptual responses of national-team footballers. METHODS: Travel schedules from 355 national-team trips (50 elite soccer players) were verified using an online flight database. All players provided perceptual ratings of fatigue, sleep quality, soreness, and stress to calculate changes in scores up to 2 days after travel. Trips were categorized as <3, 3 to 6, 6 to 9, or 9+ time zone changes, along with travel direction (eastward or westward). The pretravel to posttravel changes in perceptual ratings at days 1 and 2 postarrival were compared between time zone change and travel direction with linear mixed models. RESULTS: For every time zone crossed, poorer ratings of perceptual fatigue (ß = 0.068, P < .001), sleep (ß = 0.095, P < .001), soreness (ß = 0.0049, P < .001), and total wellness (ß = 0.214, P < .001) were observed. However, the models explained only small proportions of the variation in postflight perceptual responses (7%-18%). Regardless, travel across 9+ time zones resulted in significantly worse perceived fatigue, sleep, and total wellness for days 1 and 2 postarrival compared with travel with <6 time zones (P < .05). Additionally, fatigue, sleep, and total scores were worse on day 2 following trips of 9+ time zones. Eastward travel resulted in poorer sleep ratings (ß = 0.52, P < .001) than westward travel within time zone groupings. CONCLUSIONS: Perceptual ratings of fatigue and sleep become progressively worse as travel increases in national-team soccer players, especially after travel across 9+ time zones and eastward travel.

Relationships Between Internal and External Load Measures and Fitness Level Changes in Professional Soccer Players.

Purpose: Understanding the dose-response relationship between internal and external training load with changes in aerobic fitness and intermittent running capacity, during different periods of the season, may help in optimizing training process. The aim of the present study was to investigate the dose-response relationships between load measures and changes in aerobic fitness and intermittent running capacity among a large cohort of professional soccer players. Methods: Training load, aerobic fitness and intermittent running capacity of 52 male adult professional players from 3 elite teams were monitored across an entire season and analyzed employing linear mixed models, with a significance level set at p≤0.05. Results: Relationships between load measures (training and match duration, sRPE-TL, total distance, high and very high-speed running distances) and changes in physical qualities were stronger during the preparation period (PREP) for both aerobic fitness (d= 0.48 to 0.76, p<0.031) and intermittent running capacity (d= 0.46 to 1.89, p<0.046). The magnitude of the relationships reduced during the first competitive period (d= 0.43 to 0.56) and the relationships became trivial in the second competitive period (d= 0.06 to 0.41, p= 0.063 to 0.846). Conclusion: The moderate to large relationships found between all measures of load and changes in physical capacities suggest that training prescription during the PREP was effective in improving players' fitness. During the competitive phase small changes in aerobic and intermittent running capacities were found, highlighting that coaching staff pursue different aims during the competitive period, such as technical and tactical training and recovery.       .

Injury-Inciting Activities in Male and Female Football Players: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND: A comprehensive examination of the sport-specific activities performed around the time of injury is important to hypothesise injury mechanisms, develop prevention strategies, improve management, and inform future investigations. The aim of this systematic review is to summarise the current literature describing the activities performed around the time of injury in football (soccer). METHODS: A systematic search was carried out in PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus, and OpenGrey. Studies were included if participants were football players aged > 13 years old and the activities performed at the time of injury were reported together with the total number of injuries. Risk of bias was assessed using an adapted version of checklists developed for prevalence studies. The activities reported by the studies were grouped to account for inconsistent reporting, and the proportion of each injury activity was calculated. Data were not meta-analysed due to high heterogeneity of methods and classification criteria. RESULTS: We included 64 studies reporting on 56,740 injuries in total. ACL injures were analysed by 12 studies, ankle/foot and knee injuries were analysed by five studies, thigh injuries were analysed by four studies, hip/groin injuries were analysed by three studies, and hamstring injuries were analysed by two studies. Five studies analysed more than one type of injury and 38 studies did not specify the type of injuries analysed. Running and kicking were the predominant activities leading to thigh and hamstring injuries. Changing direction and kicking were the predominant activities leading to hip and groin injuries and duels were the predominant activities leading to ankle injuries. Duels and pressing seem the predominant activities leading to ACL injuries, while results for other knee and general injuries were inconsistent. CONCLUSIONS: A qualitative summary of the activities performed at the time of injury has been reported. The results need to be interpreted carefully due to the risk of bias observed in the included studies. If we are to meaningfully progress our knowledge in this area, it is paramount that future research uses consistent methods to record and classify injuries and activities leading up to and performed at the time of injury. REGISTRATION: The protocol of this systematic review was registered at the Open Science Framework ( https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/U96KV ).

Examination of the validity of the Injury-Psychological Readiness to Return to Sport (I-PRRS) scale in male professional football players: A worldwide study of 29 professional teams.

Perceived confidence is an important dimension of an athlete's psychological readiness to return-to-play. However, there is no established and validated tool to evaluate confidence in professional football. This study aimed to provide preliminary evaluation of the internal structure of the Injury-Psychological Readiness to Return-to-Sport scale (I-PRRS) in a cohort of injured male professional footballers. Over an 18-month period, 29 teams from 17 leagues participated. Players sustaining injuries eliciting ≥ 3 weeks' time-loss were recruited. Cross culturally adapted to 4 further languages, the I-PRRS was administered on two occasions: 1) day before returning-to-training and 2) day before returning-to-match-play. In total, 113 injuries were recorded with 96 completed I-PRRS data sets collected. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the I-PRRS was a unidimensional scale, with all items measuring the same construct. The scale demonstrated good internal consistency (ω = .88). When examining longitudinal invariance of the I-PRRS across administration time-points, indices of model fit supported scalar invariance. There was preliminary evidence of good internal structure for the I-PRRS in professional male footballers. However, before further research involving the I-PRRS can be endorsed, efforts to confirm or refute empirical developments pertaining to psychological readiness are necessary.

Research on women's football: a scoping review.

AIM: This study aims to scope available peer-reviewed literature published in a FIFA language to understand the current quantity of research on women's football. METHODS: Five databases were searched on the 15/12/2019. Studies were included when containing original research published in a peer-reviewed journal around female competitive football of any level, any age and on any subject. Author, journal, title and abstract of all included studies were scoped. Population assessed number of participants, level of play, age level of football and publication theme(s) were extracted. RESULTS: A total of 1,634 articles were scoped. The oldest publication dated back to 1939, whilst a total of 202 studies were gathered from 2019. The publication theme most frequently researched was sports medicine (N = 521) followed by strength and conditioning (N = 331) and sociology (N = 299). The majority of studies has focussed on elite (N = 442), senior (N = 977) players. CONCLUSION: A continuous growth in research attention has been seen. However, the numbers are not comparable to current research output levels in men's football. This study represents an essential first step in a larger 'research agenda-setting' project to determine research priorities for women's football during the next 10 years.