injury prevention

Background: Children and adolescents are more vulnerable to injuries than other groups. Therefore, it is necessary to use screening tests to identify players who are more susceptible to be injured and in parallel, using intervention programs to reduce the risk of injury.  Aim : The purpose of this study was to investigate effect of 11+Kids program on the scores of musculoskeletal screening tests Materials and Methods : Forty-eight players were randomly assigned into the FIFA 11+Kids (mean±SD; age= 12.70±1.30 years; weight= 44.34±6.16 kg; height= 1.52±0.09 m) and control groups (mean±SD; age= 12.91±1.31 years; weight= 45.51±8.13 kg; height= 1.55±0.11 m). The FIFA 11+ Kids performed instead of the usual warm-up for 8 weeks, while the control group performed their usual warm-up program. Functional movement screen (FMS) and special football jump-landing task (SFJLT) tests were examined in pre-test and post-test.  Results: The independent t-test showed no significant differences between the FIFA 11+ Kids and the control group in the FMS test ( P = 0.055). Furthermore, results showed significant differences between groups in the SFJLT test ( P = 0.001).  Conclusion: Performing 8 weeks of FIFA 11+Kids can improve the musculoskeletal screening test score of SFJLT as a field-assessment soccer-specific jumping-landing test. It is suggestive that a field-based assessment tool to identify prone athletes is more beneficial than the FMS test of adolescent male soccer players.

Background: The FIFA 11+ program has been shown to be effective in improving physical fitness factors and preventing injuries in soccer players.Aim: The purpose of this study was to review the effect of the FIFA 11+ injury prevention program on youth soccer players’ performance.Materials and Methods: Relevant articles were searched in Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, PEDro, and Google Scholar using the keywords "FIFA 11+", "performance", and "youth". The search yielded 32 articles, of which 14 were shortlisted, and ultimately, four were selected for review.Results: The reviewed articles have indicated that the FIFA 11+ program results in a significant improvement in various performance factors (P < 0.05). These studies demonstrated that the FIFA 11+ program enhances stability, knee flexor muscle strength, sprint performance, agility, Slalom Dribbling, and flexibility. However, no significant improvements were observed in long jump, vertical jump, VO2max, balance, and lower extremity range of motion.Conclusion: Studies suggest that the FIFA 11+ warm-up program is more effective than conventional warm-ups in enhancing performance. Therefore, based on the literature reviewed, the FIFA 11+ program is recommended to enhance muscle strength, flexibility, and agility, thereby reducing injury risk in youth football players.