Key result
A congested match schedule during the 2020 pandemic season did not significantly alter match injury incidence compared to the regular 2019 season (IRR 0.76) in Norwegian male professional football.
Why the study?
A congested match schedule can affect injury rates in professional football, prompting investigation into whether Norwegian premier league teams suffered more injuries during the pandemic-rescheduled 2020 season compared to the regular 2019 season.
Does a congested match schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic increase injury rates in male professional football players?
Observational (n=421)
Yes
Does a congested match schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic increase injury rates in male professional football players?
Relative Risk: 0.76 (95% CI 0.48–1.2)
Absolute Event Rate: 22.82% vs 30.05%
p-value: p=0.24
A congested match calendar combined with safety measures like increased substitutions did not increase injury rates in professional male football players.
Supports safety of congested schedules with mitigations in elite male football; hypothesis-generating for broader application and randomized trials.
The Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic forced the Norwegian male premier league football season to reschedule, reducing the fixture calendar substantially. Previous research has shown that a congested match schedule can affect injury rates in professional football. Therefore, we aimed to investigate whether the Norwegian premier league teams suffered more injuries in the more match congested 2020 season than in the regular 2019-season. We invited all teams having participated in both seasons to export their injury data. Only teams that used the same medical staff to register injuries in both seasons were included, and to maximize data comparability between seasons, we applied a time-loss injury definition only. Seven of 13 teams agreed to participate and exported their injury data. Both seasons had 30 game weeks, but the 2020 season was 57 days shorter than the 2019 season. The match injury incidence did not differ significantly [incidence rate ratio 0.76 (0.48–1.20; p = 0.24) in the 2020 season compared to the 2019 season. Furthermore, we found no differences in the number of injuries, days lost to injury, matches missed to injury, or injury severity. We could not detect any differences between the two seasons, suggesting the congested match calendar combined with the safety measures in the 2020 season can be a safe alternative in future seasons.
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Dalen-Lorentsen et al. (2022) conducted an observational in Football injuries (n=421). Congested match schedule (2020 season) vs. Regular match schedule (2019 season) was evaluated on Match injury incidence (injuries per 1,000 hours of exposure) (IRR 0.76, 95% CI 0.48-1.20, p=0.24). A congested match schedule during the 2020 pandemic season did not significantly alter match injury incidence compared to the regular 2019 season (IRR 0.76) in Norwegian male professional football.
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