A lot of data is collected so far but, naturally, science moves slowly when it comes to analysing and interpreting that data. Thanks to the collaboration with the Sports Medicine department at University of Pretoria in South Africa, there are two PhD candidates who are going to be analysing the data in the coming years. For men’s players the focus will be first on joint pain in the hips and knees, and for women’s players the focus will be on mental health for now.

Mental health is one of the main domains of the Drake Football Study, next to musculoskeletal, brain and cardiovascular health. FIFPRO is proactive, together with the national unions, to explore which contributing factors play a role in those mental health symptoms. It is important to have this approach within the Drake Football Study, not only measuring mental health symptoms at moments during a season, but after football too. If the players stay in the Drake Football Study then there is a trend of those mental health symptoms over time.

Read the full article at FIFPRO