The Effect of FIFA Comprehensive Warm Up Program 11+ for the Prevention of Ankle Injuries in Soccer Players: A Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial

Ankle sprains are the most frequent injuries among soccer players. Previous studies showed that FIFA comprehensive warm up program 11+ can reduce injuries but to date there is limited information on effectiveness of this program on prevention of ankle injuries. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine the effect of FIFA comprehensive warm-up program for the prevention of ankle injuries in male young soccer players.

Nine hundred and eighty young male soccer players were participated in thisrandomize control trial from thirty five different teams. All subjects were randomly assigned to an intervention (n=476 players from 17 teams) or control group (n=504 players from 18 teams). Individuals in the intervention group performed the +11 at least twice a week as warm up prior to training throughout the season. Participants in control group continued their routine practice session. All soccer-related injuries and players exposure to practice sessions and matches were registered prospectively by the coaches and medical staffs.

During 7-month season, we recorded 67383 hours players’ exposure and 1220 soccer related injuries. Poisson distribution showed that ankle injury rate in the intervention group (3.65 injuries/1000 h) was significantly lower than ankle injury rate in the control group (6.84 injuries/1000 h), (P<0.05).

The FIFA 11+ warm-up program can have an effective role for reducing the rates of ankle injuries in male young soccer players. Thus, we would like to recommend the young players and their coaches can use this program as warm up before start training sessions.