A comparison of patterns of sports injury between elite players of beach soccer and association football in Nigeria

Abstract

It is the dream of every nation, and its athletes to excel in all sport competitions and tournaments, so as to maximise the benefits of success associated to excellence in performance. However, injury is a major factor militating against success of athletes; it is considered as a potential threat in sports. This study was a retrospective one, designed to compare the patterns of sports injury between a group of elite players of beach soccer and their counterparts of association football in Nigeria. For this purpose, 46 players (23 from each sport) were purposively selected to participate in the study. A self developed questionnaire titled Questionnaire on sports Injury among athletes (QSIA) with 0.78 reliability level was used for data collection, and the data collected were analysed using frequency, simple percentage, mean and independent t-test. Results showed that there are variations in the pattern of sports injuries sustained by beach soccer players and association footballers. These variations are noticeable in the types of sports injuries they sustained, the regions of the body affected by the injuries, the preceding incidents to the injuries, and the levels of intensity of the injuries.