Concussion and brain trauma are emotive subjects in sport. As research continues to uncover the impact of traumatic head injuries, discussions about safety and the long-term health of players will continue to grow. In the USA, as early as 1906 doctors were publishing papers highlighting the dangers of concussion linked to playing American Football. In the UK, the FIELD study and other research have begun to uncover a pattern between increased incidence of dementia in ex-footballers and heading the ball.

Concussion is an issue for athletes in many sports. In a recent blog, we highlighted the higher relative risk of concussion amongst female athletes compared to their male counterparts. In this follow-up blog, we will take a deeper look at some of the proposed reasons women are at a higher risk and what the stakeholders in women's sport can do to help as part of their sponsorship or partnership mix.

The concept of players fulfilling specialist roles isn’t a new one when looking across international sports. American sports such as football and basketball are perhaps the most obvious examples. American football has specialist kickers and even special teams squads. In basketball dependent on the game situation it is common to see coaches rotate players on an offence, defence basis. Closer to home, rugby has progressed to the notion of finishers rather than substitutes, a sign that players who are not stating will come off the bench to fulfil a specialist role.

As research continues to suggest a link between heading in football and the development of neurodegenerative disease authorities have begun to act. New guidelines have been introduced at every level of the game to limit heading.

With the ending of the UK’s month-long autumn COVID-19 national lockdown, the government has moved to continue its tentative steps back towards normality by allowing crowds to return to sporting fixtures. Inevitably, the focus has fallen on football with clubs in tiers 1 and 2 areas allowed to welcome 4,000 and 2,000 fans respectively.

Sport Science Agency discusses some of the latest research regarding mental fatigue in Football. They touch on how more insight can make better fans and help brands or the clubs view performance in a more holistic manner to drive increased credibility.

Sport Science Agency discusses the Premier League drinks break and how brands can develop activation around this new, predictable and therefore plannable stoppage in play.

Project restart created an unprecedented interest from football media and fans into training, performance and the potential for injury that the return from lockdown has created. As we have mentioned in a number of previous blogs (It’s back, Recovery position, Project restart), Covid-19 presented staff with a number of unique challenges. There was no playbook for lockdown and the extended break it caused. There was no fixed return date to build conditioning towards, and there was no clear understanding of the fixture demands if/when competition was to return.

Earlier this month we took a look at the Premier League’s Project Restart as growing evidence suggested players could face increased injury risk upon their return. The risk of injury has been associated with deconditioning during the lockdown period and the relatively short reconditioning time before competitive games restart. Initial data from the Bundesliga, plus, now famous, research from the NFL during its lockout season of 2011 suggest injuries will be a greater risk for Premier League players upon return to play.

The Premier League is set to resume on the 17th June, subject to continued government approval. It marks the latest step in the much publicised Project Restart. If all goes to plan the season commences with midweek games between Aston Villa and Sheffield United and Manchester City vs Arsenal before a full round of weekend fixtures between 19th - 21st. The last Premier League action took place on 9th March. For the players, this will mean a gap of over 3 months since they were last involved in competitive action.

Premier League players returned to training in small groups this week as part of the ongoing Covid-19 return to play protocols. The improvement in the weather offered a pleasant backdrop for coaches, players, and a limited number of sport scientists to be out on the training ground. It also gave media teams a valuable opportunity to capture content for the many behind the scenes training videos being produced to satisfy fans’ thirst for content.

While the football authorities across Europe discuss how and when professional competition will return, the players have been trying to remain in the best condition possible. With return dates now confirmed in Germany and squads in England beginning to head back to the training ground, we take a look at what methods the pros have been using to train during lockdown, how they are being monitored by the clubs and whether we should believe some of the impressive stats we’ve seen on social media.

This weekend sees the Premier League make way for the 5th round of the Emirates FA Cup. Only 7 Premier League teams have reached this stage leaving a number of clubs with the opportunity for a winter training camp.

A quick glance at the podcast charts sees ‘That Peter Crouch Podcast’ firmly inside the top 10 (at the time of writing the podcast is 3rd in the Apple Podcasts Top Chart in the UK). In the show Crouchy is refreshingly honest about his time as a Premier League and international player. In a number of episodes, Crouch describes the contrasting levels of professionalism at the beginning and end of his playing career. Sport science is often the basis for that contrast. Every element of a footballer’s life has improved; training, tactics, diet, recovery, travel, the list goes on…