The Impact of the FIFA 11+ Program on the Injury in Soccer Players: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to integrate information about the effects of FIFA 11+ injury prevention program in soccer. DESIGN AND METHODS Systematic review. We used PubMed, Medline, PMC, and Web of Science to search randomized controlled trials comparing FIFA 11+ injury prevention program with control groups among soccer players. RESULTS Total of 13 studies was selected through eligibility criteria. 7 studies included overall, ankle, knee, and hamstring injury rate between FIFA 11+ versus control groups, while the other 6 studies included improvement of physical performance, such as vertical jump, 20m sprint, agility, hip adduction strength, and FMS total score between FIFA 11+ versus control groups. There was a lower rate of injury in the intervention group from all 7 studies. Couple of studies had different criteria to compare with other studies. Most values of physical performance were also significantly improved from all 6 studies except for the values of agility time. CONCLUSIONS Multiple studies have proven injury rate reduction and physical performance improvement of FIFA 11+ program between intervention and control groups. We also found that it at least required a few weeks of intervention time to be effective. Therefore, coaches and players might need to consider including FIFA 11+ program as a warm-up period to prepare the regular season.