FEATURE: FIFA 11+ +… KIDS FIRST! To prevent football injuries and to promote football as a health-enhancing leisure activity, improving social behaviour developed in 2003 a simple injury eff ect by reducing football injuries in of fractures, bone stress and other prevention programme for amateur recreational/subelite football by 39%. injuries of the upper limbs. This data football players called “The 11“. An The 11+ prevention programme reduces inspired the development of a targeted advanced version of this programme the four most prevalent football injuries: injury-prevention programme for (“The 11+”or “11+”, later also called “FIFA hamstring by 60%, hip/groin by 41%, children, the 11+ Kids. As with the 11+”) was developed in 2006 together knee by 48% and ankle by 32%. 11+ programme, the kids’ version was with the Oslo Sports Trauma Research designed by a panel of international Centre (injury prevention programmes The last F-MARC projects were dedicated experts. The 11+ kids has a focus on: in handball) and the Santa Monica to children, probably the most important a) spatial orientation, anticipation, and Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine but neglected area in football injury attention particularly while dual-tasking Research Foundation (“PEP” – Prevent epidemiology and prevention. Especially (to avoid unintended contact with other Injury and Enhance Performance in players younger than 14 years of players or objects); b) body stability and Programme). As from 2007, diff erent age there was a paucity of research. movement coordination (more general research groups worldwide evaluated the A F-MARC prospective study over than specifi c); c) learning appropriate preventive and performance eff ects of two seasons in the Czech Republic and fall techniques (to minimise the the 11+ (at today, more than 50 peer- Switzerland showed that the overall injury consequences of unavoidable falls). reviewed papers have been published). incidence was lower compared with that A large randomised trial in four European A recent meta-analysis concluded that in youth players. Interestingly, children countries with more than 4,000 kids the 11+ has a substantial injury-preventing suff ered from a relatively high percentage (7-13 years of age) has shown an 14 VOLUME 36 • JUNE ISSUE 2018