July 2015
The Public Health Agency of Canada (Agency), through its multi-sectoral partnerships approach to promote healthy living and prevent chronic disease, has partnered with Canada Soccer, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), and Canadian Sport for Life (CS4L) to implement a soccer injury prevention program consisting of two components: FIFA 11+ and Movement Preparation.
Both the Agency and FIFA are contributing $1 million in funding, for a total of $2 million, over a period of 48 months to support the promotion, implementation and evaluation of this injury prevention program across the country.
The goal of the program is to reduce injury rates among youth playing soccer, while keeping them active, healthy and injury-free on the field and off.
Developed in 2003 by FIFA’s Medical Assessment and Research Centre, and originally called “the 11”, the program has since been adapted to what we now know as FIFA 11+. It’s been previously implemented in several European countries, where it has been shown to significantly reduce injuries among soccer players aged 14 and over.
The program consists of a series of exercises aimed at strengthening the core and leg muscles, and improving neuromuscular control, coordination, balance, agility and jump technique. The full suite of exercises takes approximately 20 minutes and is intended to be performed twice a week, as a standard warm-up, at the start of each training session. Prior to games, a condensed version including only the running exercises is performed.
As part of the partnership, FIFA will provide detailed training on the FIFA 11+ program to Canada Soccer coaches, who will then implement the program in community soccer clubs across the country. Training will reiterate the importance of proper technique during each exercise and making the safe transition from one level of exercise to another.
Movement Preparation, developed by CS4L, is a physical literacy program that uses similar exercises as FIFA 11+ but is geared towards younger soccer players, aged 7-13 years. The focus is on incorporating and improving fundamental movement and sport skills so kids are not only enhancing skills like agility, balance and coordination, but are also building the confidence they need to be active and participate in sport, and to do so safely and injury-free, now and in the future.
Training for Movement Preparation will be delivered in conjunction with FIFA 11+ using Canadian Sport for Life trainers, and will also be implemented in community soccer clubs across Canada.
The University of Calgary Injury Prevention Research Centre will conduct an evaluation of FIFA 11+ and Movement Preparation to determine the effectiveness of the program in reducing soccer injuries, keeping players active and engaged in physical activity, and to assess how soccer coaches and players’ families have been engaged in the program.
For more information on FIFA 11+ visit the FIFA 11+ website. For more information on Movement Preparation visit Canadian Sport for Life.
