Umberto Calcagno, president of Assocalciatori, stated: “The injury problem is serious and real because too many games are played, and it`s an issue we have been working on for a long time.”
A scientific conference organized by the Italian Footballers` Association, titled “Is Football Good for You? – Incidence of Sports Practice on Footballers` Health,” thoroughly examined the link between football activity and athlete well-being. Speakers such as Emanuela Taioli, Walter Della Frera, and Piero Volpi presented the results of two significant studies. The first study, conducted on 5,388 Serie A and B footballers between 1975 and 2003, revealed that these athletes enjoy better health than the general population, with a lower incidence of mortality from cardiovascular diseases and cancer. However, the second study highlighted that trauma is the main risk factor for the development of osteoarthritis in professional footballers.
Risks and Evolution of Modern Football
Walter Della Frera voiced footballers` concerns about the potential long-term risks associated with a professional career. Piero Volpi elaborated on the evolution of football, emphasizing how today the physical component is as crucial as the technical one, requiring extreme preparation and care to maintain competitiveness. As early as 1974, half a century ago, the Footballers` Association discussed injury prevention, doping control, and the monitoring of occupational diseases. The analysis of current injuries allows for the identification of their incidence and type, in order to develop effective prevention protocols and propose changes to game regulations. Volpi criticized the trend of demanding extremely rapid recoveries, which increases the risk of injury recurrences.
He then illustrated the remarkable progress in club medical facilities: from a simple bed and a masseur in the past, today`s high-level clubs boast multidisciplinary teams including doctors, physiotherapists, rehabilitators, nutritionists, psychologists, and performance specialists, totaling around thirty professionals. Volpi also highlighted the excessive number of matches (60-70 per year) and training sessions (240-250) characterizing modern football, stressing that the training-to-match ratio should not drop below 3.7 to prevent an explosive increase in injuries. He criticized the elimination of the winter break, which provided a vital opportunity for physical and mental recovery. Conversely, he praised the introduction of five substitutions as a preventive measure against injuries and to encourage greater athlete involvement, reiterating that football was conceived to be played “every 7 days.”
Data and Final Conclusions
National data indicate that trained individuals have a 50% reduced cardiovascular risk compared to untrained individuals, with a 20% decrease in total mortality and a 26% decrease in cardiovascular mortality. Despite this, the intensification of the football calendar drastically reduces recovery times and training quality. The study reiterated five key points:
- Professional footballers have a superior health status compared to the general population average.
- The health protection derived from sports has remained constant over the past twenty years.
- They are less prone to mortality from cardiovascular diseases and cancer than their peers.
- Consistent physical exercise and a regulated lifestyle, including appropriate nutrition, are determining factors for these positive outcomes.
- Their excellent health also reflects in lower mortality from Covid-19.
Regarding osteoarthritis, Professor Maria Chiara Vulpiani presented less alarming data: approximately 17% of professional footballers aged 35 to 45 are affected, a percentage higher than the 6% in the general population but still manageable. After an intervention by Professor Fabrizio Perroni on the link between amateur football, well-being, and aging, Umberto Calcagno concluded the conference with a clear message: “Football is good, it`s good at high levels, even if the injury problem is serious and real because too many games are played, and it`s an issue we have been working on for a long time.”
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