Background Performance aspects of the FIFA11+ programme have not been generally reviewed.

Objective To synthetize the literature on the effects of the FIFA 11+ on the performance

Setting Systematic review

Participants Football players

Search procedure We searched five online databases for the period from 2006 to May. 2021, using five predefined keywords in conjunction to sub-keywords. Totally, 461 potential references recorded through Endnote and imported. Out of the 117 potential titles and abstracts screened by two independent researchers through Covidence, 54 full-text assessed for eligibility of which, 28 were included. Quality of studies and risk of bias were then assessed.

Results Studies carried out in 4 continents and 14 countries while recruiting female and male players aging range from 9 to 30. These indicate that the 11+ has been investigated worldwide. Quality of studies was moderate to high and except an unclear amount of bias for blinding outcome assessment; risk of bias for all domains was low. Excepting lower extremity stability, ankle evertors time latency and proprioception improvement, application of the 11+ at long-term (a complete football season) appeared to be successful in improving a variety of performance tests e.g. agility, sprinting, balance, jumping, cutting maneuvers etc; physiological responses and a majority of biomechanical measures. Vice versa, that the 11+ causes acute negative impact on the physical performance and technical abilities compared to the dynamic warm ups was highlighted in two studies.

Conclusion Application of the 11+ as warm up routine during trainings at long-term with higher adherence can be recommended for improving performance. However, caution must be observed while recruiting the 11+ for warming up before competitions as it may acutely decrease physical performance and technical abilities. Given the contradictory nature of the literature, further studies should evaluate short-term effects of the programme.