FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program

Have you heard of the FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program? If you play football (or soccer as it is predominantly known in Australia) you should make yourself familiar with it! 

Some of the best sports medicine practitioners in the world have collaborated to develop a simple set of exercises, which have been shown to decrease the likelihood of injury in footballers.

The best part of these exercises is that they are based on best practise evidence; such that you can be confident that what your warm-up is first class and exactly what the professionals should be doing too!

In a country like Australia, where we have multiple football codes, these same exercises are also appropriate for use in AFL, rugby union and rugby league.

So what are they?

There are 15 exercises in total which are expected to take a total of 20 minutes. The 15 exercises consist of 9 running exercises and 6 exercises which work on strength, balance and plyometrics. Each of the 6 strength, balance and plyometric exercises have 3 levels of difficulty and it is expected that you only complete one of each during each warm-up. Check out the exercises in more detail.

When should I do them?

The exercises should be completed at the beginning of all training sessions and prior to all games.

Are the exercises appropriate for children?

Absolutely! I would suggest that for the strength, balance and plyometric exercises, that children use the basic exercises with a focus on technique rather than attempting the more challenging exercises.

Get yourself a copy of the exercises either as a poster or as a manual. For more information on the FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program visit the website.

Don't forget to show your coach too!

Enjoy the new exercises and let us know how you find them!