Football Career Research Articles

“Ya Saçın Ya Takım!”: Türkiye’de Kadın Futbolunda Beden Politikaları ve Direniş Olanakları

This research aims to discuss the experiences of the athletes in the field of football who are notcompatible with the normalized body in women’s football in Turkey, with Foucault's conceptual tools.We focused on football as a research field since it is one of the fields where gender inequality in sportis most visible. In this manner, women’s football idealizes cis-heteronormative femininity. Wecollected the data of this research, using qualitative research design, through in-depth interviews.Between May 2020 and January 2021, we conducted face-to-face and online individual interviewswith nine active female football players, which lasted an average of one and a half hours. Weanalyzed the data with thematic analysis method. The findings of the research reveal that the “ideal”female football player in women’s football in Turkey means having long hair, being feminine,beautiful and well-groomed. On the other hand, being a football player outside of this ideal isexperienced as an obstacle to their careers in football clubs and the national team. Actors in thefootball field dictate to football players, who are described as short-haired and masculine, to growtheir hair long and be more feminine, with various discipline practices. Because of these disciplinarypractices, athletes experience serious tensions between their body image and subjectivity and oncontinuing their football careers. However, the strategies they developed to avoid discriminationbecause of their body appearance, play a motivating role in their empowerment. As a result, women’sfootball is a field, where normalization and punishment practices dominate athletes, who are not comformable with cis-heteronormative femininity, but where athletes also experience empowerment despite the tensions they experience.

Staying in or Dropping Out of Elite Women's Football-Factors of Importance.

The average age of elite women footballers in Norway is 22.7 years, significantly lower than that of elite male footballers in Norway (26.5). This study examines the factors leading to elite female footballers ending their careers at a relatively young age, and those factors influencing other female elite players to continue. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five female elite players who had ended their career at the age of 19–24, and four who were still active (age 26–31). Based on the age of the informants who had ended their career and the informants who were still active, this study defines “young age” as <25years of age. The female elite players experiences were analyzed and discussed in relation to earlier research. The results of the study show that the same factors affecting the early end of a career, also had an impact on continuing the career in the Norwegian top league, beyond the average age. A low level of internal and external motivation, poor financial circumstances, high stress load, long injury breaks, lack of playing time and other priorities, are all factors leading elite players to end their football careers at a young age. These factors are increasingly being addressed in relation to still active elite players, and this has an impact on the length of their playing career. Like earlier research, this study indicates that the emergence of Norwegian women's football in recent years has helped to improve conditions for being female elite players in the professional leagues in Norway.

Sir Stanley Rous and the Growth of World Football: An Englishman Abroad

When the growth of a sport is discussed, it is often addressed in the context of seminal games and/or players that helped elevate said sport to its current status in the national or international collectiveness. In Sir Stanley Rous and the Growth of World Football: An Englishman Abroad, sport historian Alan Tomlinson tells the story of a man who rose from modest roots to climb football's governing ladder and become the president of Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), where he helped launch the World Cup from a notable quadrennial event to the global phenomenon it is today. Tomlinson notes, “This book is about much more than Rous himself, as all individuals are both made by and makers of places and times” (xii) and proceeds to outline the myriad of ways time and circumstance serendipitously conspired with Rous's political savvy.Tomlinson divides the book into four parts: “The Rules of the Game,” “Running the Show,” “Going Global,” and “Back Home: Rous's Legacy Home and Away.” The first part explores Rous's birth in Mutford, England, the beginnings of his fascination with the game of football as a youth, his time and struggles in World War I, his time as a schoolmaster, and his burgeoning refereeing career. Using Rous's own words, essays, and musings, Part 1 illuminates the foundational experiences that shaped Rous and his development as a leader while also noting the impact a modernizing postwar society had on the upward mobility of a generation of men.The second part examines Rous's time as the secretary at the Football Association (FA), where he was engaged with the Central Council of Physical Recreation, chairing the FA's War Emergency Committee, developing programs for coaching leaders and working to re-establish the FA's FIFA affiliation. Here Tomlinson begins to delve into the growing internationalization of both football and Rous's career, noting his involvement with the 1944/1948 Olympic Games, which generated a knighthood; the FA's International Selection Committee; the birth of the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA); various FIFA committees; and his ascension to president of FIFA in 1961.In the third part, “Going Global,” FIFA expands its control over international football during Rous's tenure. During this time, Rous presided over several important developments: the integration of the Confederation of North, Central America, and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) region, which was formed days prior to his presidential term; the decision to readmit South Africa to FIFA; the 1966 World Cup in England, which included a boycott by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the inclusion of North Korea; and the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, which was the first World Cup staged in North America, the first held outside Europe and South America, and the first to be broadcast live, in color, around the world. In this part Rous is truly tested, and while he is successful in many areas, he is left wanting in many others. The lifting of the suspension of the South African Football Association in the midst of apartheid and his poor handling of negotiations with CAF were blunders that would eventually cost Rous his presidency.As the game grew globally, Tomlinson notes that, for all of Rous's cunning and past ability to see around corners, “What Rous did not foresee was the power games that would consume . . . confederations on the basis of geo-political agendas and under the influences of technological and economic trends that would create the global football commodity” (156). Additionally, Rous's South African decision firmly marks him as “a man of his time,” and, in this instance, that is not a compliment.While the last chapter in the third part details the denouement of Rous's career as the president of FIFA and the football sphere, the fourth part delves into Rous's achievements outside FA and FIFA and includes a reflection on his impact on football and sport governance.Tomlinson conveys the story of Rous in a largely nonjudgmental manner. Where many authors would have pilloried Rous for his missteps with South Africa and CAF, Tomlinson clearly examines the missteps and successes of Rous pulling no punches but taking no cheap shots either. While the exploration of Rous's youth could have been more direct, the book accelerates once Rous begins his role as the secretary of FA. In the end, Sir Stanley Rous and the Growth of World Football: An Englishman Abroad is an astute work examining the last president of FIFA born in the nineteenth century and how he helped impact and was impacted by the parallel growth of “The World's Game” and international business and politics.

No Changes in Body Composition in NCAA Division I Collegiate Football Players because of COVID-19 Restrictions.

Czeck, MA, Roelofs, EJ, Evanoff, NG, and Dengel, DR. No Changes in body composition in NCAA Division I Collegiate Football Players due to COVID-19 restrictions. J Strength Cond Res 36(6): 1749-1752, 2022-The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions on body composition, assessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA), between the 2020 postseason (pre-COVID-19 restrictions) and the 2021 postseason (post-COVID-19 restrictions) in collegiate football players (n = 50). In addition, a subset of athletes (n = 23) was used to explore body composition variables across 4 postseason time points. Body composition variables assessed were total and regional body fat percent, total mass, lean mass, fat mass, bone mineral content, bone mineral density, and visceral adipose tissue mass. Paired t-tests were used to determine differences between the 2020 postseason and the 2021 postseason in body composition variables. Analysis of variance with Tukey HSD post hoc tests assessed significant differences in total and regional body composition across 4 years while adjusting for multiple comparisons. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between postseason 2020 and postseason 2021 for all measures of body composition. In a subset of athletes, body composition was analyzed over a 4-year period of time. There were no significant differences between all 4 time points for all measures of body composition. In conclusion, body composition variables in this study's subjects were not affected because of coronavirus disease 2019 restrictions or over 4 years of their collegiate football career.

How Google Autocomplete Algorithms about Conspiracy Theorists Mislead the Public

How Google Autocomplete Algorithms about Conspiracy Theorists Mislead the Public

"I'm a Referee, Not a Female Referee": The Experiences of Women Involved in Football as Coaches and Referees.

The development of the Women's Super League (WSL) in English football, increased media coverage of the game, and an expansion of grassroots opportunities indicate a bright future for women and girls who want to play. Yet this vision must be tempered against compelling evidence of deep rooted and enduring gender inequalities within the game. This is the case for both players, and women who undertake non-playing roles, which is reflected in the relatively low numbers of women coaches and referees. Whilst The Football Association (The FA) has signalled addressing these inequalities as a key priority, critics argue that such efforts amount to superficial and limited efforts to support meaningful change. This paper departs from a concern with playing the game and responds to calls for more research to explore the experiences of women involved in football in non-playing roles. More specifically, it focuses on women coaches and referees, and addresses the following question: how do women in positions of power in football negotiate their place in what remains a distinctly male-dominated profession? In addressing this question, we take a theoretical position located at the nexus between radical and post-structural feminism, acknowledging the significance of structural power relations and individual agency in shaping daily lived social realities. Data were generated from interviews with 14 women coaches and 10 women referees. These interviews explored the structure and culture of the game and its impact on women's experiences of men's and women's competitive and grassroots football. Through a rigorous process of thematic analysis, three themes were identified: gendered entry into football careers; reinforcement of women's difference on the football field; and coping strategies for remaining in the game. Centralising the women's voices in this research highlights the insidious and persistent nature of gendered microaggressions, the sexism of football culture, and the ways in which these women negotiate this masculine terrain in their pursuit of being coaches and referees.“Andy Gray and Richard Keys hauled off air for sexist comments” (The Guardian, 24 January, 2011)“Crystal Palace Women goalkeeper accuses clubs of ignoring FA protocols after she was subjected to sexist abuse” (The Telegraph, 16 January, 2020)“Football manager demands ban on women referees” (The Guardian, 12 November, 2006)“Richard Scudamore sexism scandal intensifies as conspirator in sexist emails investigated by own law firm” (The Telegraph, 16 May, 2014)“Soccer chief's plan to boost women's game? Hotpants” (The Guardian, 16 January, 2004)“Women in Football survey a damning indictment of sexism in the workplace” (HRreview, 11 March, 2014)“Clattenburg criticised for claim female referees must pick career or children” (The Telegraph, 1 October, 2021)

Momentum, Rather Than Velocity, Is a More Effective Measure of Improvements in Division IA Football Player Performance.

Mann, JB, Mayhew, JL, Dos Santos, ML, Dawes, JJ, and Signorile, JF. Momentum, rather than velocity, is a more effective measure of improvements in Division IA football player performance. J Strength Cond Res 36(2): 551-557, 2022-Speed, or the time to complete straight runs or agility drills, is commonly used to assess performance in collegiate American football players. However, it is common for players' speeds to plateau by the second year of eligibility, whereas their body masses continue to increase. The purpose of this study was to track change in speed, body mass, and momentum (body mass · velocity), across Division 1 football players' 4-year careers (n = 512). Complete data were derived for the 40-yd sprint (n = 82), the proagility shuttle (n = 73), and the L drill (n = 73) from the same NCAA Division 1 team over a 15-year period. Significant changes were seen for velocity between year 1 and the next 3 playing years (p < 0.05), with no differences between years 2 and 4, whereas body mass increased significantly across all playing years (p < 0.05). Further momentum increased across all years for all tests (p < 0.0001). These results indicate the importance of including changes in body mass when evaluating performances during sprints and change of direction drills. Our results also suggest that using sprint or agility drill times to evaluate playing potential across football players' collegiate careers may be ineffective and can provide players with a false and disheartening picture of their improvements across their careers. Momentum, which incorporates training-induced increases in both speed and body mass, would be a more relevant and supportive measure of players' improvements. In addition, the simple computation of this variable, using existing speed and body mass data, may be an important addition to the National Football League combine as a measure of playing potential in the professional game.

Factors Determining the Market Value of Football Players on the Example of Ekstraklasa

The aim of the study is to answer the question of what factors determine the market value of players and what is their impact on the market valuation of players in Ekstraklasa clubs. Using linear regression, the parameters of the models determining the impact of individual exogenous variables on the market value of footballers in Ekstraklasa clubs were determined. The results of the analysis indicate a significant, positive relationship between the market value of players and the results of clubs in national and international competitions. The expenses on transfers of Ekstraklasa clubs turned out to be negatively correlated with the market valuation of players. Moreover, expenses on salaries and revenues turned out to be positively correlated with the market value of the players in Ekstraklasa clubs. An important factor that has a significant impact on the value of players is also their age. The most valuable players are players with experience at the highest level of competition, who at the same time have many years of professional football career ahead of them. In order to correctly assess the market value of footballers, many factors that could potentially affect their valuation should be taken into account. The business model used by Ekstraklasa clubs is significantly different from those of the leading European leagues, especially those belonging to the top league. The most effective way to find a player with high market value is to invest in the development of young, talented Polish players with high sales potential. The article is an extension of the research on the factors determining the market value of footballers, taking into account many variables that have not been fully verified so far. The study also distinguishes the time span, covering 15 seasons of the Ekstraklasa. A comprehensive approach allows for identifying the main trends in shaping the Polish football market.

Symbolic Use of Language as a Means to Demonstrate Accommodation

This paper reports on how a prominent American football player, Joe Burrow, from the state of Ohio adopts the Cajun English spelling system used in Louisiana, a southern state in the U.S., in a symbolic and innovative way during his short stay there when he relocated to Louisiana from Ohio for the final two years of his college career. In previous studies of language attitudes toward English dialects in the U.S., Michiganders evaluated the English used in the Great Lakes area (including Ohio) as the best variety while judging the English spoken in the South (including Louisiana) as the worst. Although Burrow may not carry such language attitude, it is implicitly demonstrated in media coverage related to his college football career. Despite the harsh folk evaluation and rather negative portrait from the media of the Southern U.S. English, Burrow’s accommodation to the Cajun English spelling was a means to express his gratitude to the state of Louisiana and resonated through the U.S. in various ways.

Abstract 14377: The Role of Allometric Scaling in the Association Between Professional Playing Career and Aortic Root Diameter Among Retired NFL Players

Introduction: While there is concern that participation in certain elite-level sports may increase risk for aortic dilation, clinical assessment of aortic root diameter (ARD) in professional athletes remains difficult owing to the lack of available normative data proportionate to anthropomorphic variables, which further complicates proper assessment of aortic disease during the post-professional life when risk factors may be greater. Thus, we examined the effect of allometric scaling on the association between ARD and professional football career length (NFLYrs) or playing position in retired National Football League (NFL) players. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1,328 retired NFL players (mean age 53.1 ± 12.7 yrs; 54.6% Black) that participated in NFL Player Care Foundation health screenings. Two-dimensional echocardiogram was used to determine ARD at the sinus of Valsalva and indexed to body surface area (BSA) 0.6 (aortic root index; ARI). Multivariable-adjusted linear regression models were utilized to examine the association of playing position group and NFLYrs with ARD or ARI, after adjusting for traditional cardiometabolic risk factors. Results: The mean ARD and ARI of this study cohort were 33.0 ± 6.4 mm and 19.5 ± 3.8 mm, respectively. In regression models, NFLYrs was not associated with either ARD (B: -0.04, standard error [SE]: 0.04, p = 0.3496) or ARI (B: -0.03, SE: 0.03, p = 0.3177). Conversely, increasing ARD was associated with both Big (B: 1.12, SE: 0.53, p = 0.0340) and Big Skill (B:1.10, SE: 0.45, p = 0.0144) position groups, although this was attenuated to non-significance by allometric scaling of ARD (Big, B: -0.25, SE: 0.32, p = 0.4303; Big Skill, B: 0.22, SE: 0.26, p = 0.3978). Conclusions: NFLYrs was not associated with increasing ARD or AIH, suggesting that a longer professional football career did not potentiate larger aortic root size later in life. While football playing position was associated with increasing ARD, this association became non-significant upon indexing of ARD to BSA 0.6 , suggesting that allometric scaling may be necessary to appropriately assess aortic root diameter in these individuals. This underlines the need for further studies examining optimal allometric scaling methodologies in this population.

Social structure and the imagined mobility of youth football athletes in Dakar

Across Dakar are many small football training centres where youth prospects start what could grow into professional careers. At these centres, imaginations of career and social mobility develop. In this paper, I explore the mobility imaginations of the youth athletes. I argue that the imaginations are shaped by existing social and class structures, and that the imaginations among the athletes from poor and working-class backgrounds are predominantly unidimensional. Such imaginations that construct mobility exclusively along a career in football produce barriers to the social mobility that the athletes strive for, thereby, reinforcing the structures of social immobility.

The risk of injury in the first five years of an Australian football career – Can it be predicted without using player load?

Background: The concept of predicting injury risk has been criticised (Bahr, 2016), however research using machine learning methods has demonstrated that it is possible to predict injury risk in basketball (Talukder 2016a) and soccer (Talukder 2016b). Player load is by far the strongest injury risk factor (Rossi 2018), however player load data may not always be available for analysis and the prediction of risk. The aim of this study was to investigate whether player characteristics alone, could be used to predict injury risk in the first five seasons of an Australian football player’s professional career. Methods: The data represented 1033 unique AFL players, who sustained 4762 injuries in seasons 1997-2016. Player characteristics (height, body mass, age, playing position, indigenousness & natural kicking foot) and the injury characteristics of the previous season, were used in models to predict injury risk. Results: A Naïve Bayes model that was based on player characteristics alone was able to classify injury risk category (low, medium, high) over 5 years, 1.3 times better than random chance. The characteristics of; playing position, height and body mass contributed to 97% of the prediction of injury risk category. A Decision Tree model that classified injury risk category in a single season, based on the characteristics of a player and their injuries in the previous season, performed 1.4 times better than random chance. When the models were used to predict whether a player would be in the highest risk category, the performance of both models increased to 1.9 and 2.2 times better than random chance. Taller and heavier key position players who sustained hamstring strain and groin strain/osteitis pubis injuries in the previous season had a higher injury risk than shorter and lighter non-key position players who remained injury-free in the previous season. Discussion: The injury prediction models reported here did not perform as well previously reported models that were based on training load. Nevertheless, they demonstrate how player characteristics affect injury risk and the models themselves can be used “live” to stratify injury risk, which can then be used to help clinicians make decisions about risk mitigation strategies such as prehabilitation. Conflict of interest statement: My co-authors and I acknowledge that we have no conflict of interest of relevance to the submission of this abstract.

Counselling, psychotherapy and training the football elite

AbstractCounselling and psychotherapy are not common professions that are considered alongside the work of sporting institutions, such as football academies. This paper therefore provides a brief reflection upon the existing research considering the way that such institutions currently engage with the mental health and well‐being of those that they support. In doing so, the world of elite sport engagement is considered before focusing more specifically upon research that has explored how football academies make use of psychological theory and therapy. This paper concludes that counselling and psychotherapy have an important role to play in supporting those at all stages of their football careers. However, delineation with clear roles and boundaries from other professions, such as sport psychology, proves vitally important, and further systematic exploration of this growing area of work is needed.

Football-related injuries are the major reason for the career end of professional male football players

PurposeLittle is known about the consequences of injuries on professional male football players’ career and retirement period. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of injuries that male professional football players endure during their career, reasons for the end of their career and the post-career phase of retirement.MethodsIn a retrospective cross-sectional cohort study, retired male professional football players of the German Bundesliga were investigated by a standardised questionnaire to analyse the history of injuries sustained during their professional football career, the reasons for ending their career, their current health status and their suggestions for future prevention strategies.ResultsMost of the 116 analysed players (n = 73 (62.9%)) stated an injury as the reason for ending their professional career. Relevant injuries were mainly located in the lower extremities (n = 587 (61.3%)) with a focus on the knee (p < 0.001) and ankle (p < 0.001). A significant majority of the participants who had retired due to injury described degenerative symptoms, such as pain or instability, and were diagnosed with osteoarthritis after retirement (p < 0.001). These players had also often been affected by symptoms of depression during their career, which had decreased significantly after retirement. Moreover, players who had not retired due to injury had significantly better overall health status and quality of life after retirement.ConclusionFootball-related injuries have a significant impact on the career end of professional male football players and their health status after retirement. Future prevention strategies need to particularly address injuries to the knees and ankles and to implement measures for preventing osteoarthritis after retirement.Level of evidenceLevel III

Comparison Of Mortality Rates Among Elite American Football Athletes From 1965 To 1986

Over the past decades, evidence has suggested there are increased health risks associated with playing American football. These health risks may be variable by position, due to repeated head impact exposure. PURPOSE: To analyze potential differences in life expectancy between National Football League (NFL) players named to All-Pro teams from 1965 to 1986. METHODS: Football players were identified as “elite” if they were named to an All-Pro team between 1965 and 1986. Pro-football-reference.com was used to identify these athletes and collect preliminary information. Additional information was gathered using personal interviews, news articles, blogs and forums. These data included the year that the athlete was first named to an All-Pro team, his position, team, date of birth, date of death (if applicable), the length of his NFL career, and reported height and weight. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was used to compute the median lifespan by position and Cox regression, using forward stepwise selection, was used to determine if any of the covariates collected, including position, influenced lifespan. Special teams’ positions were excluded due to low sample size (n = 23). RESULTS: 746 elite male NFL players were identified and included. Of those, 171 were deceased as of May 1, 2020 with a median age of death of 67y. Survival analysis revealed the median life expectancy was 84y [SE = 1y; 95% confidence interval 83-86y], with offensive linemen having the shortest median lifespan (82y; 95%CI = 79-85). Cox regression revealed BMI [Exp(B) = 1.12, 95%CI = 1.06-1.19; p < 0.001] and career duration [Exp(B) = 0.943, 95%CI = 0.89-1.00; p = 0.033] significantly influenced mortality. Position was not a predictor of lifespan in the stepwise model, but was a significant predictor of lifespan if entered into the model itself (p < 0.001), with linemen having shorter lifespans than skill players. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that BMI during one’s football career may be predictive of lifespan among elite NFL players. Athletes with longer NFL careers may live longer despite potentially increased exposure to repeated head impact. This paradox may be due to long careers being facilitated by the absence of major injuries and resulting in greater socioeconomic status, which may be associated with superior health post-retirement.

Women in Boots: Football and Feminism in the 1970s

Women in Boots: Football and Feminism in the 1970s by Marion Stell and Heather Reid provides great insight into the history of women's football in Australia and New Zealand. The authors use oral history and family-scrapbook collections to share the personal stories of the women selected to play in the first recognized international series between Australia and New Zealand in the late 1970s. The book's aim is “[t]o investigate the link between football and feminism” (x) during a period now recognized as the decade in which women's football began to gain a foothold in the sporting culture of nations worldwide.Both authors bring a lot to the table. Dr. Marion Stell is a renowned historian and academic and is well recognized for her work in the history of women's sport. Heather Reid, AM, is a pioneer of the women's game in Australia, having worked for the development of women's football from her initial involvement with the Australian Women's Soccer Association (AWSA) in 1979. However, it is the combination of both authors’ skills and experiences that brings a fresh approach to the narrative. Both authors began their football careers together in Canberra in 1979 and have experienced firsthand many of the challenges faced by the players represented in the book.The main strength of the book lies in the use of oral history interviewing. The interviews bring the past alive by allowing those who experienced it a voice and an opportunity to share their stories. The added contribution of memorabilia and press clippings found in family scrapbooks provides the reader with a snapshot of the society in the 1970s with personal anecdotes and “a wealth of newspaper coverage” (75).I especially enjoyed reading the opening chapter, “Boots.” The chapter introduces each of the players in a way that invites the reader to be part of the women's journey on a personal level so that you want to know how they got on. From the very beginning, we learn about how these women got involved in the game and how much it means to them. This is expressed by using the analogy of the player's first pair of football boots and how, on reflection, they represent both the struggles and triumphs experienced by the women. Football boots for women were largely unavailable during this period, and most had to make do with “hand-me-downs” or boots that were ill-fitting or of low quality. The symbol of the players’ efforts in keeping the “boots” clean, polishing them, and sometimes “sleeping with them” represents how important the game was to them and how determined they were to keep playing.The authors use a chronological order of events as the background into which the stories are woven. The chapter “Liberation” looks at some of the changes in society during the 1970s, including the momentum of the feminist movement. The chapter explains that, during this time, the women footballers were simply trying to play the game they loved, and most were not aware of being part of a wider social movement. Instead, they were fighting against the male-dominated sporting culture by growing the women's game and “[b]y their actions we can call them what British sports historian Jean Williams has named ‘practical feminists’” (35).The book goes on to explore many of the same themes faced by women in sport worldwide, including the eternal struggle to raise the necessary funds needed for them to play and issues faced by players labeled as lesbian, a topic that receives its own chapter. The individual journey of the women footballers culminates with the selection of the teams to play in the first international series between the Matildas and Ferns in 1979/80. In terms of the analogy used throughout, it was now “time to polish those boots.”The book finishes with the chapter “Respect,” in which the playing careers of the women footballers the readers have been following from Chapter 1 come to an end—or as the authors symbolically state, “[T]he boots have been packed away” (155). Some forty years later, the women reflect on what their individual journeys have meant to them and how it has impacted their lives.Women in Boots is a great read and will be enjoyed by those interested in the history of women's football or in women's sport in general. The book provides a much-needed addition to the scarcity of literature on the history of women's football and showcases the value of oral testimony. Most of all, it provides the pioneers of the women's game with an opportunity for their stories to be heard and reveals what their experiences added to the history of sport in Australia and New Zealand.

Musculoskeletal Injury History Is Associated With Lower Physical and Mental Health in a Historical Cohort of Former National Football League Players.

Little research has examined health-related quality of life in former National Football League (NFL) players. Examine the association of musculoskeletal injury history and current self-reported physical and mental health in former NFL players. Cross-sectional questionnaire. Historical cohort of 2,103 former NFL players that played at least one season between 1940 and 2001. Players were grouped by self-reported professional career musculoskeletal injury history and whether injuries affected current health: (1) no musculoskeletal injury history; (2) musculoskeletal injury history, currently affected by injuries; and (3) musculoskeletal injury history, not currently affected by injuries. The Short Form 36 Measurement Model for Functional Assessment of Health and Well-Being (SF-36) yielded physical and mental health composite scores (PCS and MCS, respectively); higher scores indicated better health. Multivariable linear regression computed mean differences (MD) among injury groups. Covariates included demographics, playing history characteristics, surgical intervention for musculoskeletal injuries, and whether injury resulted in premature end to career. MD with 95% CI excluding 0.00 were deemed significant. Overall, 90.3% reported at least one musculoskeletal injury during their professional football careers, of which 74.8% reported being affected by their injuries at time of survey completion. Adjusting for covariates, mean PCS in the "injury and affected" group was lower than the "no injury" (MD = -3.2; 95% CI: -4.8, -1.7) and "injury and not affected" groups (MD = -4.3; 95% CI: -5.4, -3.3); mean MCS did not differ. Many players reported musculoskeletal injuries, highlighting the need for developing and evaluating injury management interventions.

‘I’m Not Afraid of the Dark’

‘I’m Not Afraid of the Dark’

Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries in Australian Rules Football: Incidence, Prevention and Return to Play Outcomes.

Australian Rules football is the most popular of the various codes of football played in Australia. During the game players perform frequent landing, cutting and pivoting manoeuvres that expose them to substantial risk for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. Recent years have seen the introduction of a professional women’s league that has resulted in an exponential growth in the participation of women and girls in this sport. Unfortunately, there is a corresponding growth in ACL injury rates in female players. This review summarizes the incidence of ACL injury in both men’s and women’s Australian Rules football and reviews potential causative factors and risk reduction strategies. The final section takes an in depth look at return to sport outcomes after ACL reconstruction surgery in these populations. Whilst an ACL injury does not mean the end of a player’s career in Australian football, it certainly presents a significant challenge in terms of return to preinjury levels of form and high rates of secondary and tertiary ACL injury are also a significant concern.

Abstract 17373: The Association of Professional American-Style Football Career Length With Left Ventricular Geometry in Retired National Football League Players

Introduction: There is widespread interest in the long-term cardiovascular (CV) implications of professional football. Studies have suggested that retired National Football League (NFL) players have a high prevalence of hypertension, which may increase risk for left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). However, it is unknown if football-specific factors, such as professional football career length (NFLYrs), are associated with long-term CV outcomes, including changes in left ventricle (LV) geometry. Thus, we examined the association of NFLYrs with LV geometry patterns in a retired NFL player cohort. Methods: We analyzed data on 1349 retired NFL players (aged 53.1 ± 12.8 years, 55.1% African-American) that underwent comprehensive health screening with the NFL Player Care Foundation. Echocardiography was used to estimate LV mass, which was then indexed to height 2.7 . Relative wall thickness was computed to classify LV geometry patterns into normal, concentric remodeling (CR), eccentric hypertrophy (EH), and concentric hypertrophy (CH). Three binary logistic regression models (Model 1: CR; Model 2: EH; Model 3: CH), using normal geometry as reference, were fitted to assess the association of NFLYrs with each LV geometry pattern, adjusting for traditional cardiometabolic risk factors. Results: Increasing NFLYrs was independently associated with CR (odds ratio [OR]: 1.48, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03 – 2.11, p = 0.0334), while no associations were observed with EH (OR: 0.49, 95% CI 0.22 – 1.09, p = 0.0801) or CH (OR: 1.04, 95% CI 0.61 – 1.77, p 0.8927). Mean arterial pressure was independently associated with increased odds of CR (OR: 1.03, 95% CI 1.01 – 1.05, p – 0.0017), EH (OR: 1.06, 95% CI 1.02 – 1.09, p = 0.0013), and CH (OR: 1.06, 95% CI 1.04 -1.09, p &lt; 0.0001). Conclusion: NFL career length is not associated with increased odds for EH and CH later in life. In contrast, increased NFLYrs is associated with CR, likely an adaptive response to intense athletic training. Cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure in the retirement period appear to be more important for long-term LVH risk in NFL athletes, underscoring the need for preventive initiatives aimed at decreasing risk for future CV outcomes in athletes transitioning out of professional sports.