Furthermore, younger football players seem to have more fractures and bone stress, fewer strains and sprains, and more injuries of the upper body than adolescent players ( 9). Thus, injury incidence has recently been aligned to peak height velocity (adolescence), when rapid disproportional growth is evident ( 18).
Specifically, injury incidence in youth populations has been shown to be higher in adolescents than pre/early pubertal players ( 17). However, these injury prevention programmes may not be suitable for younger players (<13 years of age) since maturation seems to affect the incidence and characteristics of injury. The effectiveness in reducing non-contact overall and overuse lower extremity injury rates of these abovementioned injury prevention programmes have been documented in male and female youth (aged 13–19 years) players ( 16). All of these programmes include running exercises and specific dynamic movements focusing on enhancing physical competence and performance, as it has been suggested as a primary injury risk factors in youth athletes ( 15) and are based on the injury profile and biological status (i.e., maturation phase) of the target population (>14 years of age). Several injury prevention programmes have been designed with the aim of preventing and reducing the number and severity of football-related injuries in adolescent players, such as the FIFA 11+, knee injury prevention program and preventing injury and enhancing performance program ( 11– 14). Therefore, it would appear important to implement effective injury prevention programmes early to counter potential injury-related risks.
While some studies have explored position-related differences in injury incidence ( 10), it should be noted that there may be differing movement demands based on football position however, no studies have directly explored this within youth football. In particular, a recent epidemiological study of young children (7–12 years of age) reported injury incidence rates of 0.61 per 1,000 h of exposure and an increase in the incidence rate with age ( 9). Epidemiology studies have reported that the frequency and severity of injuries among youth football players is striking in comparison to other sports ( 6– 8). These high-intensity situations result in a notable increase in injury risk and are especially relevant in children where individual growth and maturation may predispose youth players to a higher risk ( 3– 5). Football (soccer) is a physically demanding sport that entails sudden acceleration and deceleration, rapid changes of directions, jumping and landing tasks, as well as many situations in which players are involved in tackling to keep possession of or to win the ball ( 1, 2).
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