Background: The injury preventive strategies of Brazilian soccer teams has not been completely established in the literature and few studies have investigated those practices in elite soccer teams around the world. Objective: To identify the injury prevention strategies and practices adopted in Brazilian soccer teams. Methods: Setting: cross-sectional study. Participants: Seventy-two Brazilian soccer teams. Main Outcome Measures: Those responsible for the teams' preventive strategies responded an online form on injuries prevention, injury risk factors, injury assessment and control methods, and injury prevention training exercises. Results: Injury prevention programs were being developed in 64 teams (89%), 93.8% of teams in series A and B, 76.9% in C and 88.9% in series D. In this study, 48.4% of preventive measures used by the teams were based on scientific evidence, 48.4% were partially based, and 3.1% were measures established by the teams. In 79.7% teams, the physiotherapist is the most active professional in preventing injuries. The predisposing factors of injury were biomechanical changes, physical conditioning, muscle imbalance, previous injuries, pitch quality, training load and number of matches per season. The athletes' evaluation involved validated functional tests, isokinetic dynamometry, and serum creatine kinase. Preventive activities included proprioceptive exercises, core training, eccentric, plyometric, and stretching exercises. Conclusion: Most Brazilian soccer teams develop preventive strategies, but few have bases on scientific evidence. The physiotherapist is the most active professional. Injury risk factors, assessment methods, and preventive training were similar across the teams evaluated. Highlights There are differences in injury assessment among Brazilian soccer teams. The prevention actions are mostly performed by physiotherapists. The preventive training was similar across the teams evaluated. The preventive strategies are based on some scientific evidence.
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