Risk assessment in professional football: an examination of accidents and incidents in the 1994 World Cup finals.

R D Hawkins, C W Fuller

Centre for Hazard and Risk Management, Loughborough University, United Kingdom.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risks to footballers' health and safety during competitive international matches, with identification of the most common causes of injury. METHODS: Videos of 44 of the 52 matches played during the 1994 World Cup finals staged in the USA were analysed. During each match, several relevant variables were recorded, including the number of fouls, injuries, treatments, times of incidents, identity of players treated or injured, and the injury mechanism. Additional information on players' injuries was obtained from the extensive media coverage of the event. RESULTS: Only 29% of injuries resulted from foul play, whereas 71% of injuries to players occurred where no foul play was adjudged by the referee to have taken place (P < 0.01). Defenders were found to be proportionately subjected to a greater risk of injury than other players (P < 0.05). Fifteen per cent of all injuries were judged to be at least moderate, resulting in the player missing at least one match. Frequency of moderate injury was 1026 injuries per 100,000 hours played. CONCLUSIONS: The major causes of injuries during international football matches were not found to be associated with foul play, as judged by the referees. However, in those cases where injuries occurred without a foul being committed, almost 50% involved player to player contact. This gives some cause for concern and is worth further investigation.

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Rosenbaum, D A, Silvis, M L, Williams, J E, Davis, S W (2009). Variation in injury risk over the course of a two-day youth club soccer tournament. Inj. Prev. 15: 266-269 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Collins, C L, Fields, S K, Comstock, R D (2008). When the rules of the game are broken: what proportion of high school sports-related injuries are related to illegal activity?. Inj. Prev. 14: 34-38 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J. (2007). Injuries in female football players in top-level international tournaments. Br. J. Sports. Med. 41: i3-i7 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Tscholl, P, O'Riordan, D, Fuller, C W, Dvorak, J, Gutzwiller, F, Junge, A (2007). Causation of injuries in female football players in top-level tournaments. Br. J. Sports. Med. 41: i8-i14 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Best, J P, McIntosh, A S, Savage, T N (2005). Rugby World Cup 2003 injury surveillance project. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 812-817 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fuller, C W, Junge, A, Dvorak, J (2005). A six year prospective study of the incidence and causes of head and neck injuries in international football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: i3-i9 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Hagglund, M, Walden, M, Bahr, R, Ekstrand, J (2005). Methods for epidemiological study of injuries to professional football players: developing the UEFA model. Br. J. Sports. Med. 39: 340-346 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Arnason, A., Engebretsen, L., Bahr, R. (2005). No Effect of a Video-Based Awareness Program on the Rate of Soccer Injuries. Am J Sports Med 33: 77-84 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Andersen, T E, Arnason, A, Engebretsen, L, Bahr, R (2004). Mechanisms of head injuries in elite football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: 690-696 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Andersen, T E, Tenga, A, Engebretsen, L, Bahr, R (2004). Video analysis of injuries and incidents in Norwegian professional football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: 626-631 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Arnason, A., Tenga, A., Engebretsen, L., Bahr, R. (2004). A Prospective Video-Based Analysis of Injury Situations in Elite Male Football: Football Incident Analysis. Am J Sports Med 32: 1459-1465 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ekstrand, J, Walden, M, Hagglund, M (2004). A congested football calendar and the wellbeing of players: correlation between match exposure of European footballers before the World Cup 2002 and their injuries and performances during that World Cup. Br. J. Sports. Med. 38: 493-497 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J., Graf-Baumann, T. (2004). Football Injuries During the World Cup 2002. Am J Sports Med 32: 23S-27S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Fuller, C. W., Smith, G. L., Junge, A., Dvorak, J. (2004). An Assessment of Player Error as an Injury Causation Factor in International Football. Am J Sports Med 32: 28S-35S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Yoon, Y. S., Chai, M., Shin, D. W. (2004). Football Injuries at Asian Tournaments. Am J Sports Med 32: 36S-42S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Andersen, T. E., Engebretsen, L., Bahr, R. (2004). Rule Violations as a Cause of Injuries in Male Norwegian Professional Football: Are the Referees Doing Their Job?. Am J Sports Med 32: 62S-68S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J., Graf-Baumann, T., Peterson, L. (2004). Football Injuries During FIFA Tournaments and the Olympic Games, 1998-2001: Development and Implementation of an Injury-Reporting System. Am J Sports Med 32: 80S-89S [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Andersen, T E, Larsen, O, Tenga, A, Engebretsen, L, Bahr, R (2003). Football incident analysis: a new video based method to describe injury mechanisms in professional football. Br. J. Sports. Med. 37: 226-232 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Rahnama, N, Reilly, T, Lees, A (2002). Injury risk associated with playing actions during competitive soccer. Br. J. Sports. Med. 36: 354-359 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Turner, A. P, Barlow, J. H, Heathcote-Elliott, C. (2000). Long term health impact of playing professional football in the United Kingdom. Br. J. Sports. Med. 34: 332-336 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dvorak, J., Junge, A. (2000). Football Injuries and Physical Symptoms: A Review of the Literature. Am J Sports Med 28: S-3-S-9 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J., Rosch, D., Graf-Baumann, T., Chomiak, J., Peterson, L. (2000). Psychological and Sport-Specific Characteristics of Football Players. Am J Sports Med 28: S-22-S-28 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Junge, A., Dvorak, J. (2000). Influence of Definition and Data Collection on the Incidence of Injuries in Football. Am J Sports Med 28: S-40-S-46 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Peterson, L., Junge, A., Chomiak, J., Graf-Baumann, T., Dvorak, J. (2000). Incidence of Football Injuries and Complaints in Different Age Groups and Skill-Level Groups. Am J Sports Med 28: S-51-S-57 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Chomiak, J., Junge, A., Peterson, L., Dvorak, J. (2000). Severe Injuries in Football Players: Influencing Factors. Am J Sports Med 28: S-58-S-68 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Dvorak, J., Junge, A., Chomiak, J., Graf-Baumann, T., Peterson, L., Rosch, D., Hodgson, R. (2000). Risk Factor Analysis for Injuries in Football Players: Possibilities For a Prevention Program. Am J Sports Med 28: S-69-S-74 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Ball, D. J (1998). Some observations on waterslide injuries. Inj. Prev. 4: 225-227 [Abstract] [Full Text]