In the Netherlands, a national premier league for elite female soccer players was founded recently, in order tom improve the playing level and qualify for international tournaments. Although the injury risk in female soccer is known to be high, still little is known about the specific injury mechanisms1 and clear prevention strategies are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the injury mechanisms by means of video in elite female soccer players to target specific intervention strategies. Methods Video recordings of 57 out of 144 competition matches in the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons were analyzed. Situations where the match was interrupted by the referee, one or more players lay down on the pitch for more than 15 s, and the player(s) appeared to be in pain or received medical treatment, were noted as an incident. All incidents were analyzed according to the Football Incident Analysis (FIA)2. Frequencies and percentages were calculated. Results & Discussion In total, 225 incidents were found. For the most part (78,2%) incidents were caused by direct contact of which 48,4% by tackles. Predominantly, ball control was low (88,4%) and the point of attention was not directed at the opponent causing the incident (89,7%). Intervention strategies may target at improving perceptual awareness of opponents and technical skills. Conclusion Most incidents were caused by direct contact. The majority of the players was not aware of the attacking action of the direct opponent and their level of ball control was low.
© Copyright 2011 7th World Congress on Science and Football (WCSF), 2011. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.