513 FO42 – Safeguarding elite women’s football: do match workload and travel contribute to injury risks?

Background Women's football has grown in popularity, competitiveness, and professionalism. The increased demands placed on players have raised concerns about the impact of various factors, including match workload and international travel, on injury susceptibility. Objective The aim of this study was to compare the match workload and international travel between injured and non-injured elite women's footballers. Design An observational, retrospective, case-control study over two football seasons was conducted. Setting The 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 seasons of four top-tier European women's football leagues (Division 1 Feminine, FA Women's Super League, Frauen Bundesliga, Primera División Femenina). Participants Elite female football players. Inclusion criteria were that 1) they were included in the Federation Internationale des Associations de Footballeurs Professionnels (FIFPRO) Player Workload Monitoring platform, 2) competed in one of the four leagues, and 3) played for their national team. Sixty-one players who met the inclusion criteria and were injured in either season formed the injury group. They were matched with 122 non-injured players to form the control group (1:2 injury to control ratio). Assessment of risk factors For each injury, cumulative match workload (minutes played, appearances, days between matches) and international travel (distances, time, time zones crossed) variables were calculated over a 28-day period preceding and injury, for both the injured players and controls. Main Outcome measurements Injury data were collected from publicly available sources, and the injury location, type, and severity were recorded. Results Preliminary results showed that injured players had more instances having of less than 3 days between appearances compared to non-injured players. Conclusions Fixture congestion is a risk factor for injuries. Squad rotation and fixture scheduling should be considered to safeguard players.