Back to the Future—Past Learnings for Prospective Performance, Medicine and Health Research Recommendations in WOMEN’s Football

The rapid professionalisation of women’s football has exposed significant gaps in biopsychosocial research that is essential to support player development, health, and career longevity. This current opinion examines historical deficiencies in research related to women’s football, and presents the WOMEN framework (World-wide representation, Open science, Methodology excellence, Evidence-based practice, Nurturing talent) to address these gaps and provide future research directions. Emphasis is placed on the necessity of diversity in research populations, adoption of open science practices and methodological rigor to produce impactful, generalisable findings. The framework also signifies the importance of research to support nurturing talent from youth to elite levels, considering the unique factors affecting female players. By learning from the past, and using available guidelines and resources, the existing knowledge gaps can be bridged to support evidence-based advancements in women's football, promoting both performance enhancement and player wellbeing across all stages of an athlete’s career.