UK Football Pools

Pools RSK Papers – Soccer, Capital, Bob Morton

Pools rsk papers, rsk pool papers ,rsk pool papers this week, pool rsk paper for this week, soccer research pool paper, Bob Morton, rsk pool papers, rsk papers this week.

week 34 rsk papers 2024

Week 34 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 34 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 33 rsk papers 2024

Week 33 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 33 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 32 rsk papers 2024

Week 32 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 32 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 31 rsk papers 2024

Week 31 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 31 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 30 rsk papers 2024

Week 30 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 30 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 29 rsk papers 2024

Week 29 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 29 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 28 rsk papers 2024

Week 28 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 28 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 27 rsk papers 2024

Week 27 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 27 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 26 rsk papers 2023

Week 26 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 26 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 25 rsk papers 2023

Week 25 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 25 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 24 rsk papers 2023

Week 24 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 24 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 23 rsk papers 2023

Week 23 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 23 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 22 rsk papers 2023

Week 22 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 22 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 21 rsk papers 2023

Week 21 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 21 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 20 rsk papers 2023

Week 20 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 20 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 19 rsk papers 2023

Week 19 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 19 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 18 rsk papers 2023

Week 18 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 18 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 17 rsk papers 2023

Week 17 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 17 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

week 16 rsk papers 2023

Week 16 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 16 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

  • Review Article
  • Open access
  • Published: 21 September 2020

Reducing Injuries in Soccer (Football): an Umbrella Review of Best Evidence Across the Epidemiological Framework for Prevention

  • Oluwatoyosi B. A. Owoeye   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-5984-9821 1 , 2 ,
  • Mitchell J. VanderWey 1 &
  • Ian Pike 3 , 4  

Sports Medicine - Open volume  6 , Article number:  46 ( 2020 ) Cite this article

37k Accesses

41 Citations

44 Altmetric

Metrics details

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world. Expectedly, the incidence of soccer-related injuries is high and these injuries exert a significant burden on individuals and families, including health and financial burdens, and on the socioeconomic and healthcare systems. Using established injury prevention frameworks, we present a concise synthesis of the most recent scientific evidence regarding injury rates, characteristics, mechanisms, risk and protective factors, interventions for prevention, and implementation of interventions in soccer. In this umbrella review, we elucidate the most recent available evidence gleaned primarily from systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Further, we express the exigent need to move current soccer injury prevention research evidence into action for improved player outcomes and widespread impact through increased attention to dissemination and implementation research. Additionally, we highlight the importance of an enabling context and effective implementation strategies for the successful integration of evidence-based injury prevention programs into real-world soccer settings. This narrative umbrella review provides guidance to inform future research, practice, and policy towards reducing injuries among soccer players.

This review provides a one-stop evidence reference regarding the prevention of soccer injuries, including evidence and perspectives on the implementation of proven interventions.

Overall evidence supports the use of the 11+ neuromuscular training warm-up and focused strength training, and there is emerging evidence for load management programs to mitigate injury risk among soccer players.

Theory-driven dissemination and implementation studies are needed to improve the adoption, adherence, appropriate adaptation, scale-up, and sustainment of evidence-based injury prevention interventions in soccer.

The findings from this review provide guidance to inform future research, practice, and policy towards reducing injuries among soccer players.

Soccer (football) is the most popular sport in the world [ 1 ], with some 270 million involved in the sport worldwide in 2006 [ 2 ]. For approximately 110,000, it is a profession and thus a source of income; for some 38 million registered players, it is a team game organized within leagues and competitions; and for about 226 million others, it is an enjoyable exercise surrogate for fitness and health [ 2 ]. The health benefits of soccer as “medicinal exercise” are well documented, for example, improved cardiovascular health, mental health, and bone health [ 3 ]. However, there is a paradoxical negative effect of soccer on health when players get injured (e.g., obesity or post-traumatic osteoarthritis after an anterior cruciate ligament injury) [ 4 , 5 ]. Furthermore, soccer injuries exert a significant burden on socioeconomic and healthcare systems [ 6 ]. Founded on established epidemiological frameworks describing the sequence of research steps to effective injury prevention practice [ 7 , 8 ]—from identifying injury rates to the implementation of effective interventions—we present a narrative umbrella review that articulates best available evidence to inform guidelines, practice, and policy towards mitigating the risk of injuries in soccer, and in turn maximizing the benefits of participation among individuals.

To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, we conducted methodical searches across five databases (MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) from January 2010 to January 2020 to identify all systematic reviews, meta-analyses, reviews, and original research (where limited or no reviews were available) across soccer injury studies that investigated injury incidence, characteristics, mechanisms, risk and protective factors, interventions for prevention, and implementation and evaluation of interventions. A summary of the search records for our primary source of data (systematic and narrative reviews) is presented in Table 1 , and details of the search terms used—key concepts and search words—are presented in an additional file ( Supplementary File ). Our search strategy involved the use of relevant search descriptors of “OR” and “AND” to combine search/key words and key concepts, respectively, after each search word was exploded (exp) to capture all literature possible. Search records were limited to articles with full text, written in the English language, and relating to humans. The same methodology was used to obtain primary research articles where no reviews were available.

Injury Rates

Injury incidence among soccer players differs across levels of participation, age, type of exposure, and sex. The incidence of injuries in soccer is mostly significant during games/matches, ranging from 9.5 to 48.7 injuries/1000 h among competitive male youth players, 2.5 to 8.7 injuries/1000 h among male professional players, and 12.5 to 30.3 injuries/1000 h among female players [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ] (Table 2 ). The incidence of injuries appears higher among males vs. females, and injury incidence is higher during games/matches vs. practice/training for all participation categories, among both male and female players [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Soccer players younger than 12 years of age have a lower injury rate (1.0–1.6 injuries per 1000 h) compared to older players [ 9 ].

Injury Location and Type

Most soccer injuries occur in the lower limbs (60–90%), especially the ankle, knee, and thigh [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. Among male players, the most common injuries affect the hamstring muscles followed by the ankle, knee, and groin [ 11 , 13 ]. Comparably, among female players, knee and ankle injuries are the most common, followed by thigh/hamstring injuries [ 10 , 13 ].

Thigh, Knee, and Ankle Injuries

Most thigh injuries result from strains with a high proportion of hamstring injuries, despite quadriceps injuries leading to longer absence from play [ 15 ]. The prevalence and history of hamstring injury is greater among adult professional players (40%) compared to under-20 players (18%) [ 16 ]. Up to 18% of severe soccer injuries presenting at hospital emergency departments involve the knee [ 17 ]. One such injury involves the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). The ACL injury rate among females (2.0/10,000 athlete exposures) is 2.2 times higher than that of males (0.9/10,000 athlete exposures), independent of participation level [ 18 ]. Ankle injuries account for up to 20% of all soccer injuries with ankle sprains constituting 77% of all ankle injuries [ 14 , 19 ].

The prevalence of concussion in youth soccer appears to be relatively low with an incidence of 0.19 (95% CI 0.16–0.21) concussions per 1000 athletic exposures and 0.27 (95% CI 0.24–0.30) concussions per 1000 athletic exposures among male and female players, respectively [ 20 ]. A higher concussion incidence has been consistently reported among females [ 10 , 20 ].

Injury Mechanisms

Overall, about two-thirds of soccer injuries are traumatic and the other one-third (27–33%) are caused by overuse [ 11 , 12 , 21 ]. These findings are based on a medical attention/time-loss injury definition, and emerging evidence from studies using an all-complaint injury definition suggests that overuse onset injuries may be as prevalent as acute onset injuries [ 22 ]. About two-thirds of traumatic injuries are contact injuries, of which 12–28% are caused by foul play. Notably, non-contact injuries account for 26–58% of all injuries [ 13 , 21 ]. Injuries occur primarily during the initial or final 15 min of the match, indicating the significance of an appropriate warm-up and the effects of fatigue on players [ 23 ].

Risk and Protective Factors

Non-modifiable risk factors, player position.

Goalkeepers are at a lower overall risk of injury compared to outfield players in the male game [ 24 ]. Independent of goalkeepers, current evidence is inconsistent regarding the association between player position and injury risk; however, it appears that strikers may be at a greater risk as compared with other outfield players during matches [ 24 ].

Previous Injury

A history of previous injury continues to be the most consistent and strongest risk factor for future injury, and this also holds true for specific injuries [ 9 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ]. For example, a history of previous hamstring injury is associated with future hamstring injury among male players [ 25 , 28 ], previous ACL injury is associated with risk of future ACL injury [ 29 ], and previous ankle sprain injury is related to the emergence of new ankle sprain injuries [ 27 ].

Current evidence regarding age as a risk factor for soccer injury is limited. One systematic review suggested that increasing age was a risk factor for future hamstring injury among male players [ 25 ]. Another systematic review concluded that existing literature was insufficient to infer any relationship between age and the risk of ACL injury among soccer players [ 29 ]. In a single prospective study, age > 14 years was a significant risk factor for future acute knee injury among female players [ 30 ].

Familial predisposition for ACL injury is associated with increased risk of ACL injury and acute knee injury [ 29 , 30 ].

Overall, the incidence of injuries is higher among males vs. females [ 10 , 11 ]; however, female sex is associated with increased ACL injury risk [ 29 ].

Competitive Setting

Game exposure demonstrated increased injury risk compared to practice for both male and female soccer players [ 29 , 31 ]. Furthermore, within the practice setting, the risk of injury is higher for scrimmage compared to normal practice and walk-through [ 29 ].

Shoe-Surface Interaction

Current research suggests there is an association between higher shoe-surface interaction and increased ACL injury risk [ 29 ].

Pre-season Knee Complaints

Females presenting with pre-season knee complaints appear to be at increased risk for acute knee injury during the season [ 30 ].

Early Sport Specialization

Though there is a lack of substantive evidence for soccer specifically, early sport specialization has been found to be associated with a greater risk for overuse injuries across multiple youth sports [ 9 ]. One study showed that female soccer players 12–15 years of age playing on more than one team had increased risk for lower extremity overuse injuries [ 32 ].

Growth and Leg Length

Elite male youth soccer players are at greater risk for traumatic injury in the year of peak height velocity [ 33 ]. A recent prospective study of male soccer players aged 10–12 years shows an association between an increase in leg length throughout the season and risk for overuse injury [ 34 ]. The same study suggests an association between longer leg length and risk of overuse injury among male soccer players aged 13–15 years. Additionally, they found a higher weight and a decreased growth rate to be associated with an increased risk of acute injury.

Modifiable Risk Factors

Evidence regarding load-injury relationships among soccer players is still emerging as reviews remain sparse in this area of inquiry. Current evidence across team sports indicates that load, in terms of player exposure and/or exertion, could either be an independent protective or risk factor for injury, depending on whether load administration is optimal and progressive or suboptimal (e.g., load spike), respectively, and that this relationship is likely moderated by other risk factors for injury [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. Prospective studies showed that a high amount of absolute (accumulated or cumulative) load, based on different calculations of load measures (e.g., 1-weekly, 2-weekly), was associated with greater risk of injury among elite youth and professional soccer players [ 39 , 40 , 41 ]. These findings suggest that it may be expedient to have an absolute load threshold, for example, weekly load threshold, to further mitigate injury risk in soccer, especially youth soccer [ 39 , 40 ]. Altogether, available evidence suggests that avoiding a spike in load (e.g., the acute to chronic workload ratio) is associated with less soccer injuries [ 39 , 40 , 41 ].

Neuromuscular Factors

Hamstring/quadriceps strength ratio imbalance is a key risk factor for hamstring muscle injury; specifically, decreased hamstring strength relative to quadriceps strength is a risk factor for knee ligamentous injuries in both male and female youth soccer players [ 29 , 42 ]. Decreased single leg hop distance is also associated with increased hamstring injury risk [ 43 ]. While current evidence is inconclusive for muscle strength asymmetry (i.e., right vs. left) as a risk factor, eccentric hamstring strength asymmetry is specifically indicated as a key predictor of injury among male youth soccer players [ 26 ]. Furthermore, eccentric hamstring strength (< 256 N) and single leg hamstring bridge scores of less than 20 reps on the right leg are associated with increased risk of hamstring strain [ 43 ]. Poor landing mechanics, specifically, increased dynamic knee valgus, is associated with increased risk for lower limb injury, including ACL injury [ 9 , 42 , 43 ]. Leg dominance and leg asymmetry also relates to increased risk of injury; a difference of 15% or greater, between an individual’s dominant and non-dominant limb, has been shown to predict future injury [ 42 ]. An asymmetry of greater than 4 cm on the anterior reach portion of the Y-balance test places athletes at 2.5 times greater risk for injury among male youth soccer players [ 42 , 43 ]. Hip external rotation strength scores using handheld dynamometry of less than 18% of the individual’s body weight is associated with lower extremity and back injuries [ 43 ]. Additionally, the literature suggests that the risk of injury may increase with altered neuromuscular firing during dynamic movements like cutting or landing, and dynamic stability deficits may increase lower extremity injury risk for male youth soccer players [ 42 ].

Protective Factors

Although mention of protective factors in review level evidence did not exist at the time of this evidence review, findings from original research previously described (under modifiable risk factors) signify load management as a viable target for mitigating injury risk in soccer. For example, an in-season relative load measure of acute to chronic workload ratio of 1 to 1.25 significantly reduced injuries among youth players [ 40 ], and a reduced absolute load significantly reduced injuries among youth and adult professional players [ 39 , 40 ]. Additionally, current evidence suggests that improved neuromuscular capacity and control, including increased quadriceps, hamstring, hip flexor strength, and movement control are protective against injuries among soccer players [ 9 , 26 , 29 , 42 , 43 ].

Opportunities for Prevention

Effective interventions.

Drawing from available evidence regarding modifiable risk factors and protective factors for soccer injuries, injury prevention experts have developed and tested interventions for reducing musculoskeletal injuries in soccer. There is extensive high-quality evidence (including two reviews of systematic reviews) showing the clinical effectiveness of exercise-based interventions in the form of neuromuscular training (NMT) warm-up programs in reducing all soccer-related injuries across sex, ages, and skill levels. Specifically, the 11+ (formerly called the FIFA 11+) warm-up program reduces overall injury rate (i.e., all injuries) by 30 to 47% [ 23 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], lower limb injury rate by 39 to 44% [ 44 , 45 ], overuse injury rate by 55%, and knee injury rate by 52% [ 47 ]. Emerging evidence also suggests that the 11+ Kids (a version for children under 12 years old) is efficacious (48% reduction for all injuries) for reducing injuries in younger players [ 48 ]. Additionally, the “Knee Injury Prevention Program” (KIPP) has the potential to significantly reduce non-contact lower limb injury and overuse injury among young female soccer players by 50% and 56%, respectively [ 47 ].

In a recent systematic review, the application of a variety of exercise-based injury prevention programs for youth players was found to reduce injury rates by up to 46% [ 49 ]. Furthermore, the risk of hamstring injuries can be reduced by up to 51% when the Nordic Hamstring exercise is implemented in isolation [ 50 ]. A recent meta-analysis showed that ankle injuries can be reduced by as much as 40% [ 51 ] and a meta-analysis of meta-analyses [ 52 ] demonstrated that a 50% reduction can be achieved for all ACL injuries in a heterogeneous sample of athletes, including soccer players, when NMT warm-up is implemented.

Specific instructions on how to perform aforementioned NMT warm-up programs can be found in the International Olympic Committee’s “Get Set” app, an innovative and accessible mobile app that provides continued access to illustrative and video information regarding effective sport- and body-specific NMT warm-up programs, including the 11+ program. The 11+ program can also be accessed from the following website: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSJIp7e7fyY

Although concussions are not frequent in soccer, sustaining a concussion may present severe and lasting negative health consequences [ 53 ]. It is important for coaches, parents, and administrators to be aware of concussion signs and symptoms and know what to do if concussion is suspected. For concussion prevention, there is evidence that education about concussion among key stakeholders, e.g., coaches, referees, and parents, can reduce the incidence of concussion and facilitate improved outcomes [ 54 ]. Interventions for primary (e.g., rule change and avoiding a slippery playing surface) and secondary (e.g., concussion recognition and decision on return to playtime) prevention are mainly informational for coaches and parents/guardians. A popular evidence-based educational tool is the Concussion Awareness Training Tool, available at https://cattonline.com .

Cost-Effectiveness of Interventions

Literature regarding the cost-effectiveness of injury prevention interventions in soccer is limited. A reduction of 43% was reported in healthcare costs in the training group that underwent an NMT warm-up similar to the 11+ program with additional use of a wobble-board, when compared to a standard practice control group [ 55 ]. Similarly, the “11+ Kids” program showed a 51% reduction in healthcare costs when compared with a regular warm-up [ 56 ].

Implementation and Evaluation

Literature regarding the evaluation of the implementation of efficacious/effective interventions such as the 11+ and other NMT warm-up programs is advancing despite the lack of reviews [ 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 ]. However, of all the studies currently available, only two reported using an implementation framework to evaluate a preventative program. The Reach Effectiveness Adoption Implementation Maintenance Framework was used in both studies: one to evaluate an NMT warm-up program for knee/ACL prevention, and the other to evaluate the Adductor Strengthening Program for groin injury prevention [ 57 , 59 ]. Overall, the execution of NMT warm-up programs when implemented ranged between low and moderate [ 60 , 68 ].

To improve the spread and implementation of evidence-based injury prevention intervention in soccer, an understanding of implementation contexts is imperative. Although more rigorous theory-driven studies are needed to further understand potential contextual moderators of successful/unsuccessful implementation, a small number of studies have investigated perceived facilitators and barriers to NMT programs across levels of soccer participation (Table 3 ).

Current Best Practices for Implementation

Literature regarding best practices for onward translation of evidence-based injury prevention programs into routine practice in community and professional soccer remains sparse, and the urgent need for research in this field of inquiry has been identified [ 70 ]. The following conclusions have been reached in existing literature:

Preseason structured coaching workshops have the potential to effectively increase coach attitudes, perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, and intention and subsequent implementation of NMT programs [ 64 , 71 , 72 ]. However, it remains unclear whether high levels of behavioral determinants, i.e., cognitive and psychosocial factors, would ultimately result in high levels of program adherence and maintenance over time [ 57 ].

Coach-led delivery of the 11+ appears to be relatively sufficient in implementing the program; evidence on the advantage of having additional support or supervision from research or team staff, e.g., strength and conditioning coach, an athletic trainer, or physiotherapist, is mixed [ 57 , 60 , 71 ].

For maximum effectiveness, coaches need to ensure quality delivery to their teams by performing NMT warm-up exercises with proper technique and adhering to the program guidelines, while adapting it to fit their local setting. A minimum of 2× weekly appears to be optimal and thereby recommended [ 58 , 61 ].

Quality implementation requires soccer associations and organizations at the federal, provincial, and community levels to enact policies that enforce injury prevention programs and education and policies that require coaches to use proven NMT warm-up programs such as the 11+ [ 60 , 73 , 74 ].

Conclusions and Call to Action

This review provides guidance to inform future research, policy, and practice towards reducing injuries among soccer players. It presents a one-stop evidence reference regarding the burden, etiology, and prevention of soccer injuries, including current opportunities for evidence-based interventions and their implementation. To achieve desired outcomes and population-level impact from injury prevention research evidence, evidence-based interventions need enabling contexts and effective implementation strategies for a successful integration into real-world settings. Consequently, innovators (e.g., researchers) and implementation actors at the organizational (e.g., football associations, government/public health agencies, non-profit organizations, football clubs) and individual (e.g., coaches, strength and conditioning personnel, medical staff) levels have critical roles to play and are urged to rise to the occasion.

Researchers need to acquire an appreciable level of proficiency in dissemination and implementation research designs to build upon current literature to advance dissemination and implementation science in soccer injury prevention. Specifically, theory-driven dissemination and implementation studies are needed to improve the adoption, adherence, appropriate adaptation, delivery, scale-up, and sustainment of evidence-based injury prevention interventions such as the 11+ in soccer. Researchers should move beyond randomized controlled trials evaluating efficacy in NMT programs (considering that there is extensive evidence supporting NMT efficacy ) to evaluating strategies for implementation in randomized controlled and pragmatic (e.g., quasi-experimental) trials. Further, researchers should use current information on implementation barriers to and facilitators of evidence-based interventions and knowledge from implementation science to conceptualize and test potential implementation strategies. In addition, soccer organizations and their staff, especially coaches, have the obligation of ensuring safety among their players. Collectively, researchers, knowledge brokers, policymakers, leaders, and administrators in soccer and other related organizations need to work collaboratively to move current injury prevention evidence into action in order to protect players’ current and future health.

Availability of data and materials

Data sharing is not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated during the current study.

Abbreviations

Anterior cruciate ligament

Neuromuscular training

Top-10 trending most popular sports in America 2019 | SportyTell [Internet].

FIFA Big Count 2006: 270 million people active in football [Internet]. 2007 [accessed 2020 Apr 1]. https://www.fifa.com/mm/document/fifafacts/bcoffsurv/bigcount.statspackage_7024.pdf .

Krustrup P, Dvorak J, Junge A, Bangsbo J. Executive summary: the health and fitness benefits of regular participation in small-sided football games. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2010.

Lohmander LS, Englund PM, Dahl LL, Roos EM. The long-term consequence of anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus injuries: osteoarthritis. Am J Sports Med. 2007.

Toomey CM, Whittaker JL, Nettel-Aguirre A, Reimer RA, Woodhouse LJ, Ghali B, et al. Higher fat mass is associated with a history of knee injury in youth sport. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2017;.

Fuller CW. Assessing the return on investment of injury prevention procedures in professional football. Sports Med. 2019.

van Mechelen W, Hlobil H, Kemper HCG. Incidence, severity, aetiology and prevention of sports injuries: a review of concepts. Vol. 14, Sports Medicine: An International Journal of Applied Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise. 1992. p. 82–99.

Finch C. A new framework for research leading to sports injury prevention. J Sci Med Sport. 2006;9(1–2):3–9.

Article   Google Scholar  

Watson A, Mjaanes JM. Soccer injuries in children and adolescents. Pediatrics. 2019.

Junge A. Epidemiology in female football players. In: Football traumatology: new trends: Second Edition. 2015.

Pfirrmann D, Herbst M, Ingelfinger P, Simon P, Tug S. Analysis of injury incidences in male professional adult and elite youth soccer players: a systematic review. J Athl Train (Allen Press. 2016 May;51(5):410–424.

López-Valenciano A, Ruiz-Pérez I, Garcia-Gómez A, Vera-Garcia FJ, De Ste CM, Myer GD, et al. Epidemiology of injuries in professional football: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2020.

Junge A, Dvorak J. Soccer injuries: a review on incidence and prevention. Sports Med. 2004;34(13):929–38.

Feria-Arias E, Boukhemis K, Kreulen C, Giza E. Foot and ankle injuries in soccer. Am J Orthop (Belle Mead NJ). 2018;.

Pfirrmann D, Herbst M, Ingelfinger P, Simon P, Tug S. Analysis of injury incidences in male professional adult and elite youth soccer players: a systematic review. J Athl Train. 2016.

Ribeiro-Alvares JB, Dornelles MP, Fritsch CG, de Lima-e-Silva FX, Medeiros TM, Severo-Silveira L, et al. Prevalence of hamstring strain injury risk factors in professional and under-20 male football (soccer) players. J Sport Rehabil. 2019.

Roth TS, Osbahr DC. Knee injuries in elite level soccer players. American journal of orthopedics (Belle Mead, N.J.). 2018.

Montalvo AM, Schneider DK, Silva PL, Yut L, Webster KE, Riley MA, et al. “What’s my risk of sustaining an ACL injury while playing football (soccer)?” A systematic review with meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2019.

Fong DT-P, Hong Y, Chan L-K, Yung PS-H, Chan K-M. A systematic review on ankle injury and ankle sprain in sports. Sports Med. 2007;37(1):73–94.

Pfister T, Pfister K, Hagel B, Ghali WA, Ronksley PE. The incidence of concussion in youth sports: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2016 Mar;50(5):292–7.

Bizzini M, Dvorak J. FIFA 11+: an effective programme to prevent football injuries in various player groups worldwide-a narrative review. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(9).

Harøy J, Clarsen B, Thorborg K, Hölmich P, Bahr R, Andersen TE. Groin problems in male soccer players are more common than previously reported. Am J Sports Med. 2017;45(6):1304–8.

Sadigursky D, Braid JA, De Lira DNL, Machado BAB, Carneiro RJF, Colavolpe PO. The FIFA 11+ injury prevention program for soccer players: a systematic review. BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil. 2017.

Della Villa F, Mandelbaum BR, Lemak LJ. The effect of playing position on injury risk in male soccer players: systematic review of the literature and risk considerations for each playing position. American journal of orthopedics (Belle Mead, N.J.). 2018.

Hughes T, Sergeant JC, Parkes MJ, Callaghan MJ. Prognostic factors for specific lower extremity and spinal musculoskeletal injuries identified through medical screening and training load monitoring in professional football (soccer): a systematic review. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2017.

McCall A, Carling C, Davison M, Nedelec M, Le Gall F, Berthoin S, et al. Injury risk factors, screening tests and preventative strategies: a systematic review of the evidence that underpins the perceptions and practices of 44 football (soccer) teams from various premier leagues. Br J Sports Med. 2015 May;49(9):583–9.

Owoeye OBA, Palacios-Derflingher LM, Emery CA. Prevention of ankle sprain injuries in youth soccer and basketball: effectiveness of a neuromuscular training program and examining risk factors. Clin J Sport Med. 2018;28(4):325–31.

van Beijsterveldt AMC, van de Port IGL, Vereijken AJ, Backx FJG. Risk factors for hamstring injuries in male soccer players: a systematic review of prospective studies. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2013;23(3):253–62.

Volpi P, Bisciotti GN, Chamari K, Cena E, Carimati G, Bragazzi NL. Risk factors of anterior cruciate ligament injury in football players: a systematic review of the literature. Muscles, Ligaments and Tendons Journal. 2016.

Hägglund M, Waldén M. Risk factors for acute knee injury in female youth football. Knee Surgery, Sport Traumatol Arthrosc. 2016;24(3):737–46.

Emery CA, Meeuwisse WH, Hartmann SE. Evaluation of risk factors for injury in adolescent soccer: implementation and validation of an injury surveillance system. Am J Sports Med. 2005;33(12):1882–91.

O’Kane JW, Neradilek M, Polissar N, Sabado L, Tencer A, Schiff MA. Risk factors for lower extremity overuse injuries in female youth soccer players. Orthop J Sport Med. 2017.

Read P, Oliver JL, De Ste Croix MBA, Myer GD, Lloyd RS. Injury risk factors in male youth soccer players. Strength Cond J (Lippincott Williams Wilkins). 2015 Oct;37(5):1–7.

Google Scholar  

Rommers N, Rössler R, Goossens L, Vaeyens R, Lenoir M, Witvrouw E, et al. Risk of acute and overuse injuries in youth elite soccer players: body size and growth matter. J Sci Med Sport. 2020.

Gabbett TJ. The training-injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder? Br J Sports Med. 2016;.

Malone S, Hughes B, Doran DA, Collins K, Gabbett TJ. Can the workload–injury relationship be moderated by improved strength, speed and repeated-sprint qualities? J Sci Med Sport. 2019;22(1).

Gabbett TJ, Hulin BT, Blanch P, Whiteley R. High training workloads alone do not cause sports injuries: how you get there is the real issue. Br J Sports Med. 2016;50(8):444–5.

Owoeye OBA. Digging deep into the etiology of basketball injuries: a complex systems approach for risk mitigation. In: Lavar L, Kocaoglu B, Bytomski J, Cole B, Arundale A AN, editor. The basketball sports medicine and science book. Springer; 2020.

Watson A, Brickson S, Brooks A, Dunn W. Subjective well-being and training load predict in-season injury and illness risk in female youth soccer players. Br J Sports Med. 2017.

Bowen L, Gross AS, Gimpel M, Li F-X. Accumulated workloads and the acute:chronic workload ratio relate to injury risk in elite youth football players. Br J Sports Med. 2016;bjsports-2015-095820.

Malone S, Owen A, Newton M, Mendes B, Collins KD, Gabbett TJ, et al. The acute:chonic workload ratio in relation to injury risk in professional soccer. J Sci Med Sport. 2016;0(0):646–8.

Read PJ, Oliver JL, De Ste Croix MBA, Myer GD, Lloyd RS. Neuromuscular risk factors for knee and ankle ligament injuries in male youth soccer players. Sports Medicine. 2016.

Read PJ, Oliver JL, De Ste Croix MBA, Myer GD, Lloyd RS. A review of field-based assessments of neuromuscular control and their utility in male youth soccer players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2019.

Al Attar WSA, Alshehri MA. A meta-analysis of meta-analyses of the effectiveness of FIFA injury prevention programs in soccer. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2019.

Al Attar WSA, Soomro N, Pappas E, Sinclair PJ, Sanders RH. How effective are F-MARC injury prevention programs for soccer players? A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2016;46(2):205–17.

Thorborg K, Krommes KK, Esteve E, Clausen MB, Bartels EM, Rathleff MS. Effect of specific exercise-based football injury prevention programmes on the overall injury rate in football: a systematic review and meta-analysis of the FIFA 11 and 11+ programmes. Br J Sports Med. 2017;bjsports-2016-097066.

Herman K, Barton C, Malliaras P, Morrissey D. The effectiveness of neuromuscular warm-up strategies, that require no additional equipment, for preventing lower limb injuries during sports participation: a systematic review. BMC Med. 2012.

Rössler R, Junge A, Bizzini M, Verhagen E, Chomiak J, aus der Fünten K, et al. A multinational cluster randomised controlled trial to assess the efficacy of ‘11+ Kids’: a warm-up programme to prevent injuries in children’s football. Sport Med. 2018;.

Hanlon C, Krzak JJ, Prodoehl J, Hall KD. Effect of injury prevention programs on lower extremity performance in youth athletes: a systematic review. Sport Heal A Multidiscip Approach. 2020;12(1):12–22.

Al Attar WSA, Soomro N, Sinclair PJ, Pappas E, Sanders RH. Effect of injury prevention programs that include the Nordic hamstring exercise on hamstring injury rates in soccer players: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Med. 2017;47(5):907–16.

Grimm NL, Jacobs JC, Kim J, Amendola A, Shea KG. Ankle injury prevention programs for soccer athletes are protective: a level-I meta-analysis. J Bone Joint Surg (Am Vol). 2016.

Webster KE, Hewett TE. Meta-analysis of meta-analyses of anterior cruciate ligament injury reduction training programs. J Orthop Res. 2018.

Gardner RC, Yaffe K. Epidemiology of mild traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative disease. Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience. 2015.

Tator CH. Sport concussion education and prevention. J Clin Sport Psychol. 2012.

Marshall DA, Lopatina E, Lacny S, Emery CA. Economic impact study: neuromuscular training reduces the burden of injuries and costs compared to standard warm-up in youth soccer. Br J Sports Med. 2016;bjsports-2015-095666-.

Rossler R, Verhagen E, Rommers N, Dvorak J, Junge A, Lichtenstein E, et al. Comparison of the “11+ Kids” injury prevention programme and a regular warmup in children’s football (soccer): a cost effectiveness analysis. Br J Sports Med. 2019.

Frank BS, Register-Mihalik J, Padua DA. High levels of coach intent to integrate a ACL injury prevention program into training does not translate to effective implementation. J Sci Med Sport. 2015;18(4):400–6.

Hägglund M, Atroshi I, Wagner P, Waldén M, Hagglund M, Atroshi I, et al. Superior compliance with a neuromuscular training programme is associated with fewer ACL injuries and fewer acute knee injuries in female adolescent football players: secondary analysis of an RCT. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47(15):974–9.

Harøy J, Wiger EG, Bahr R, Andersen TE. Implementation of the adductor strengthening programme: players primed for adoption but reluctant to maintain — a cross-sectional study. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2019.

Joy EA, Taylor JR, Novak MA, Chen M, Fink BP, Porucznik CA. Factors influencing the implementation of anterior cruciate ligament injury prevention strategies by girls soccer coaches. J Strength Cond Res. 2013;27(8):2263–9.

Soligard T, Nilstad A, Steffen K, Myklebust G, Holme I, Dvorak J, et al. Compliance with a comprehensive warm-up programme to prevent injuries in youth football. Br J Sports Med. 2010;44(11):787–93.

Steffen K, Emery CA, Romiti M, Kang J, Bizzini M, Dvorak J, et al. High adherence to a neuromuscular injury prevention programme (FIFA 11+) improves functional balance and reduces injury risk in Canadian youth female football players: a cluster randomised trial. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47(12):794–802.

Lindblom H, Carlfjord S, Hägglund M. Adoption and use of an injury prevention exercise program in female football: a qualitative study among coaches. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018;28(3):1295–303.

Article   CAS   Google Scholar  

McKay CD, Merrett CK, Emery CA. Predictors of FIFA 11+ implementation intention in female adolescent soccer: an application of the health action process approach (HAPA) model. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2016;13(7).

O’Brien J, Finch CF. Injury prevention exercise programs for professional soccer: understanding the perceptions of the end-users. Clin J Sport Med. 2017.

Norcross MF, Johnson ST, Bovbjerg VE, Koester MC, Hoffman Marc F.; ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5329-3925 MAAI-O http://orcid. org/Norcros. Factors influencing high school coaches’ adoption of injury prevention programs. [Internet]. Ardern Comstock, Donaldson, Finch, Finch, Finch, Finch, Frank, Gilchrist, Glasgow, Glasgow, Hagglund, Joy, Kamath, LaBella, Lindblom, McKay, Morrissey, Orr, Pate, Rogers, Rogers, Sadoghi, Sawyer, Soligard, Twomey, Van Tiggelen, White B, editor. Vol. 19, Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport. Norcross, Marc F., [email protected] : Elsevier Science; 2016. p. 299–304.

Donaldson A, Callaghan A, Bizzini M, Jowett A, Keyzer P, Nicholson M. Awareness and use of the 11+ injury prevention program among coaches of adolescent female football teams. Int J Sports Sci Coach. 2018;13(6):929–38.

Junge A, Lamprecht M, Stamm H, Hasler H, Bizzini M, Tschopp M, et al. Countrywide campaign to prevent soccer injuries in Swiss amateur players. Am J Sports Med. 2011.

O’Brien J, Young W, Finch CF. The use and modification of injury prevention exercises by professional youth soccer teams. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2017.

Owoeye OBA, McKay CD, Verhagen EALM, Emery CA. Advancing adherence research in sport injury prevention [Internet]. Vol. 52, British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2018. p. 1078–9.

Steffen K, Meeuwisse WH, Romiti M, Kang J, McKay C, Bizzini M, et al. Evaluation of how different implementation strategies of an injury prevention programme (FIFA 11+) impact team adherence and injury risk in Canadian female youth football players: a cluster-randomised trial. Br J Sports Med. 2013;47(8):480–7.

Pryor JL, Root HJ, Vandermark LW, Pryor RR, Martinez JC, Trojian TH, et al. Coach-led preventive training program in youth soccer players improves movement technique. J Sci Med Sport. 2017;.

Bizzini M, Dvorak J. FIFA 11+: an effective programme to prevent football injuries in various player groups worldwide-a narrative review. Br J Sports Med. 2015;49(9):577–9.

Bizzini M, Junge A, Dvorak J. Implementation of the FIFA 11+ football warm up program: How to approach and convince the Football associations to invest in prevention. Br J Sport Med. 2013;47(12).

Download references

Acknowledgements

The funding for this review was managed by Pike, I. and Babul, S. of the British Columbia (BC) Injury Research and Prevention Unit and BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and coordinated by Richmond, S. of the Canadian Injury Prevention Trainee Network.

Provided by the British Columbia Alliance for Healthy Living Society, Canada, and supported by the Saint Louis University, MO, USA.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Physical Therapy and Athletic Training, Doisy College of Health Sciences, Saint Louis University, Allied Health Professions Building, 3437 Caroline Street, St. Louis, MO, 63104, USA

Oluwatoyosi B. A. Owoeye & Mitchell J. VanderWey

Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

Oluwatoyosi B. A. Owoeye

Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada

BC Injury Research and Prevention Unit, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

OO conceived the study and did the initial systematic literature search. MV did the updated literature search. OO and MV drafted the manuscript, and OO and IP substantially revised it. The authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Oluwatoyosi B. A. Owoeye .

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate.

Not applicable

Consent for publication

Competing interests.

The authors, Oluwatoyosi Owoeye, Mitchell VanderWey, and Ian Pike, declare that they have no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note.

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

Additional file 1:..

Search terms

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ .

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Owoeye, O.B.A., VanderWey, M.J. & Pike, I. Reducing Injuries in Soccer (Football): an Umbrella Review of Best Evidence Across the Epidemiological Framework for Prevention. Sports Med - Open 6 , 46 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-020-00274-7

Download citation

Received : 24 April 2020

Accepted : 19 August 2020

Published : 21 September 2020

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1186/s40798-020-00274-7

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

soccer research paper week 13 2022

U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

  • Publications
  • Account settings
  • Advanced Search
  • Journal List
  • Behav Sci (Basel)
  • PMC10604603

Logo of behavsci

Data Analysis of Psychological Approaches to Soccer Research: Using LDA Topic Modeling

Jea woog lee.

1 Intelligent Information Processing Lab, Chung-Ang University, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea; rk.ca.uac@skueziyy

Doug Hyun Han

2 Department of Psychiatry, Chung Ang University Hospital, Seoul 06974, Republic of Korea

Associated Data

The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding authors.

This study identifies the topical areas of research that have attempted a psychological approach to soccer research over the last 33 years (1990–2022) and explored the growth and stagnation of the topic as well as research contributions to soccer development. Data were obtained from 1863 papers from the Web of Science database. The data were collected through keyword text mining and data preprocessing to determine the keywords needed for analysis. Based on the keywords, latent Dirichlet allocation-based topic modeling analysis was performed to analyze the topic distribution of papers and explore research trends by topic area. The topic modeling process included four topic area and fifty topics. The “Coaching Essentials in Football” topic area had the highest frequency, but it was not statistically identified as a trend. However, coaching, including training, is expected to continue to be an important research topic, as it is a key requirement for success in the highly competitive elite football world. Interest in the research field of “Psychological Skills for Performance Development” has waned in recent years. This may be due to the predominance of other subject areas rather than a lack of interest. Various high-tech interventions and problem-solving attempts are being made in this field, providing opportunities for qualitative and quantitative expansion. “Motivation, cognition, and emotion” is a largely underrated subject area in soccer psychology. This could be because survey-based psychological evaluation attempts have decreased as the importance of rapid field application has been emphasized in recent soccer-related studies. However, measuring psychological factors contributes to the study of football psychology through a new methodology and theoretical background. Recognizing the important role of psychological factors in player performance and mental management, as well as presenting new research directions and approaches that can be directly applied to the field, will advance soccer psychology research.

1. Introduction

It is common knowledge that soccer is the most popular participation and spectator sport in the world today [ 1 ]. This means that there are many players, teams, and fierce competition. As with any sport, soccer teams strive to win in the face of fierce competition, and soccer is widely studied by researchers owing to its popularity. Many professional soccer clubs have emphasized the importance of sports psychology in improving their performance [ 2 , 3 ].

In recent years, the role of psychology in various subfields related to soccer has become very important [ 4 ]. Many efforts have been made to apply psychology to soccer, including administrative efforts such as the creation of the “Psychology for Soccer” strategy introduced by the English Football Association in 2011 [ 5 ]. These attempts have served as valuable milestones in understanding how psychological exploration can impact players’ performance and lives [ 6 ]. Research has also repeatedly shown that a healthy body and mind can influence players’ lives after their playing careers [ 7 ]. These findings are relevant, not only to professional soccer clubs, but also to a wide range of soccer workers, including youth players and referees [ 8 , 9 ]. As such, much of the research has been integrated into educational programs for coaches, players, and support staff to teach them psychological concepts and, most importantly, connect them with practicing football and sports science psychologists.

The above-mentioned reviews have all made valuable contributions to the current understanding of the research conducted in the field of sport and exercise psychology; therefore, there must be a large quantitative and qualitative accumulation of psychological research that has been continuously explored for the development of soccer over the years. Klarin (2019) reported that a macro view must be taken from a position of reflection and introspection for the discipline’s long-standing tradition to become more rooted and more forward-looking [ 10 ].

There are ways to explore the intellectual structure of research through, for example, literature review, content analysis, and meta-analysis, but a framework that integrates large disciplines such as psychology constitutes natural language processing [ 11 ]. The development of computing power, represented by the effective collection, storage, processing, and real-time sharing of data, due to the advent of the information age, has made such a framework possible [ 12 ].

In particular, the emergence of the concepts of artificial intelligence and big data has made it possible to derive new insights from vast and unstructured data through high-level analysis [ 13 ]. Natural language processing is one of the methods that can realize these expectations, and it is being used in various academic fields. In this study, we used the natural language processing techniques of text mining and topic modeling. Topic modeling is a technique that analyzes a dataset of documents and discovers latent topics through the derived unstructured text to explore key issues and controversies in a particular field [ 14 , 15 ].

Compared to other literature review methodologies, topic modeling is advantageous, owing to its ability to explore the published literature in a field in depth. [ 16 ] reported that the keyword-driven segmentation of topic areas can reveal the major theories, methodologies, and themes that shape the sport and exercise psychology literature and how these various aspects relate to each other. By building on this body of work, we could further solidify the findings of the literature and uncover meaningful insights into new areas of research.

The purpose of this study is to identify research topics in the field of soccer that have attempted to take a psychological approach to the study of soccer, and to identify their growth and stagnation, as well as their contributions and prospects for soccer development. First, this study set the scope of the collection database as the Science Citation Index Expanded, Social Sciences Citation Index, and Art & Humanities Citation Index indexed in the Web of Science (WOS) database. The first soccer study with a psychological approach found in the database was in 1990. Therefore, a database of articles collected over a 33-year period from 1990 to 2022 was established and topic keywords, topics, and topic areas were extracted. Second, we identified macro-level research trends in psychological approaches to soccer research by identifying key keywords, topics, and topic areas through topic modeling analysis. In addition, it contributed to providing insights into how the identified research topics played a role in different aspects of soccer fields. Third, we identified active and stagnant research areas through statistical analysis of changes in the frequency and share of each topic area. Then, we analyzed various backgrounds for this phenomenon and predicted future responses, changes, and research directions.

2. Materials and Methods

2.1. data collection.

In this study, WOS was selected as the database to collect the articles. Cheng et al. (2018) reported that WOS is rich in data volume, including complete coverage of more than 10,000 journal citations, is well recognized in the academic community, and supports batch extraction of article information, which enables fast and accurate data processing [ 17 ]. In addition, the taxonomy of WOS and the indexes of other academic information databases have been criticized for their lack of ability to generate consensus measures for scientific measurement studies [ 18 ]. In deciding on WOS as a data source, we considered the arguments of various topic modeling-related prior studies. The keywords used in the search were “soccer” and “football”, and 53,671 results were retrieved by entering the search term “soccer or football” in the WOS database. Next, from the list of all soccer-related articles retrieved, 4692 articles in the field of psychology were extracted using WOS’s filtering capabilities. From these 4692 articles, a further 1844 articles of low relevance were excluded by hand monitoring of the collected articles by experts in soccer, sports psychiatry, and sports psychology, including the researcher. Next, we also excluded 237 studies that focused on rugby, American football, and Australian football. Finally, we excluded 748 articles that were not peer-reviewed (e.g., news articles, letters to the editor, research reports, conference presentations, and books), leaving 1863 articles for analysis.

2.2. Data Preprocessing

Natural language processing involves synthesizing a set of processes that intuitively derive meaning from unstructured words in text documents organized into sentences. Furthermore, the natural language processing process of academic research involves analyzing abstracts that summarize the key content of the study [ 19 ]. Therefore, in this study, the procedure of analyzing the collected article abstracts was performed. Morphological analysis, one of the natural language processing techniques, was performed using the original data of the collected article abstracts. Through morphological analysis, 17,665 words were extracted from 1863 article abstracts.

Most natural language processing analysis methods, including topic modeling, are preceded by data preprocessing techniques to identify only the words that will be used in the analysis. Data preprocessing involves a series of refinement processes, such as deleting words from a large set of documents that may contaminate the analysis results and unifying words with similar meanings [ 20 ]. The data analyzed in this study were obtained from a knowledge document of soccer psychology, and words (except for keywords that imply the meaning of the subject area of each paper) were analyzed. For example, from the words that were initially identified, we deleted words that describe the methodological unit of the paper, such as “purpose”, “research”, “method”, “result”, “discussion”, and “conclusion”, and adverbs and adjectives that are not keywords related to the actual research topic, such as “tomorrow”, “meanwhile”, “recently”, “always”, and “although”. In addition, words that have the same meaning but are recognized as separate keywords due to slight differences, including differences in expression, were combined, which may have affected the analysis results. Thus, the task of unifying multiple keywords with the same meaning was performed. All of this was carried out by the authors of this study, who are experts in natural language processing and topic modeling.

Meanwhile, among the representative keywords that describe the research topic area, a potential problem is that the representativeness of the area is excessively high and only the keyword influences the overall result. In this study, keywords such as “soccer” and “football” appeared as keywords in all papers at the time of the initial search. Thus, even if they do not appear in individual clusters of the topic model to be analyzed, they are sufficiently recognizable as basic topic areas. As an indicator to determine the presence of such words, TF-IDF(Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency) is a formula that calculates the number of words that appear universally in all documents and words that appear frequently in specific documents (i.e., keywords that are representative of the topic area) [ 21 ]. TF-IDF indexes above 0.3 are generally deleted [ 22 ]. After conducting these preprocessing steps, we refined the final 1430 words and utilized them for the analysis.

2.3. Topic Modeling

Various types of algorithms can be used for topic modeling, depending on the calculation method used, including individual analysis techniques. In this study, we used the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) technique. LDA is generally adopted when the topic areas across documents have a strong tendency to be reduced to a single contact point; it is also used to derive topic modeling results for knowledge technology documents that contain specific domain knowledge such as papers, news, and patents [ 23 , 24 ]. The parameter values of alpha, beta, and the number of topics must be arbitrarily specified in the topic modeling analysis settings to derive analysis results through topic modeling. However, both alpha and beta range from 0.01 to 0.99 and, in some cases, they can be divided into thousands of digits [ 25 ]. Furthermore, determining the number of cases, calculating the number of topics, and finding the optimal topic organization can be very difficult. These difficulties can be overcome by utilizing the coherence coefficient to find the optimal number of topics and keywords within topics [ 26 ].

The coherence coefficient is a virtual proxy for the number of cases with the alpha, beta, and number of topics settings described above, and it adopts the number of cases with coherence values close to 1. In this study, the number of cases for alpha and beta values was set to 0.01~0.99 to consider the optimal number of topics and parameters for topic modeling results. The number of topics varied from seven to twenty, considering the total number of papers, and the consistency index was calculated for the number of all cases. As a result, the consistency index was very high (0.921) when the number of topics was fifty (alpha: 0.01, beta: 0.1). Therefore, by comparing the topic composition according to the number of topics, we derived core topics that show a high density of keyword composition in any setting and variable topics that indicate changes depending on the setting, and suggested the meaning and implications of the subject area implied by each topic. Figure 1 shows the conceptual model of LDA topic modeling utilized in this study.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is behavsci-13-00787-g001.jpg

Probabilistic graphical model of latent Dirichlet allocation. α: a parameter that represents the Dirichlet prior for the document topic distribution; β: a parameter that represents the Dirichlet for the word distribution; θ: a vector for topic distribution over a document d; z : a topic for a chosen word in a document; w : specific words in N ; M : the length of documents; N : the number of words in the document.

2.4. Change in Topics by Period

This study analyzed the growth and decline of the topic area over time by analyzing the frequency and share of articles on psychological-related soccer research over a 33-year period (1990–2022). Topics were segregated based on discernible patterns of growth or decline over the specified time. A linear regression model was applied utilizing SPSS 23.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, New York, NY, USA), with the timeline serving as the independent variable and the frequency and proportion of each topic acting as the dependent variables.

The results were subsequently interpreted using a systematic, two-step approach. First, after linear regression analysis, if the Durbin–Watson statistic was within the range of 1.5 to 2.5, it was considered a suitable regression model, and the regression coefficient and significance were checked [ 27 , 28 ]. Topics were categorized as hot if the coefficient was positive (+) and statistically significant, warm if the coefficient was positive (+) but lacked statistical significance, cold if the standardized regression coefficient was negative (−) with statistical significance, or cool if the coefficient was negative (−) but not statistically significant.

3.1. Topic Modeling

The topic modeling results are shown in Table 1 . The clustered interest of Topic 1 appears to be related to soccer motor skill training, specifically focusing on leg work; accuracy and speed with the ball; and motor tasks related to foot ability, balance, knee improvement, and coordination. Topic 2 was clustered and was related to soccer training and performance, particularly regarding physical characteristics and requirements. Topic 3 was clustered and demonstrated the importance of coaching and leadership by measuring and analyzing the strong relationships that effective coaching and leadership create, the establishment of clear roles and responsibilities, the creation of a supportive atmosphere, satisfaction, motivation, efficacy, cohesion, support, style, atmosphere, commitment, youth, and autonomy.

Results of topic modeling in soccer psychology.

Topic 4 focused on the role of goalkeepers in soccer, including their behavior and strategies when faced with penalty kicks and shots on goal. Topic 5 was clustered around the coaching process (encompassing feedback, practice, training, and communication, among other aspects) and considered the crucial role of coaches in developing youth programs and their support towards parents. Topic 6 was clustered with keywords related to psychological aspects of sports, such as anxiety, stress, burnout, and emotions, as well as strategies and support for coping with stressors and events. Topic 7 was clustered into keywords related to youth athlete development in elite sports academies, including talent and career assessment processes, transition, and support. Topic 8 was clustered with keywords related to the validity and reliability of measures and instruments used to assess soccer student-athlete behavior, including standards, norms, and attitudes. Topic 9 was clustered with keywords related to injuries in soccer—specifically regarding the risk of concussions and head impacts—and brain injury prevention and exposure review for adult, youth, and elite soccer players during the season. Topic 10 was clustered into keywords related to training load and physical demands, including fatigue, speed, acceleration, intensity, and recovery, which affect soccer players’ physical performance, including their sprinting, long-distance running, and jumping performance. Topic 11 was clustered with keywords related to soccer players’ goal orientations and behaviors, including perception and mastery, aggression, self-efficacy, and achievement in youth development. Topic 12 was clustered with keywords related to the pattern and intensity of physical activity, including perfectionism, energy, muscle, and threshold states in the soccer elite sport system. Topic 13 was considered to explore the different tactical formations used by soccer teams and how they affect gameplay. Topic 14 was clustered with keywords related to decision-making processes involving expert knowledge, information, and video analysis of technical functions, conditions, and reactions in soccer matches. A visualization of the keyword network for each topic is shown in Figure 2 .

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is behavsci-13-00787-g002.jpg

Knowledge structure by topic modeling.

3.2. Trend Analysis by Topic Area

Each of the 14 clustered topics followed a detailed micro-classification of the soccer psychology domain. In the book “Football Psychology: From Theory to Practice”, Konter et al. (2019) organized the psychology of soccer into four macro-content areas, which were further organized into micro-disciplines [ 29 ]. Following this scheme, each topic was included in the subtopics of the four topic areas. The organization of topics in Konter’s (2019) book is as follows.

First, the “Motivation, Cognition, and Emotion” section focuses on soccer players’ motivation and psychological factors such as mood, grit, and mental strength. The topic modeling resulted in the inclusion of Topics 6 and 11, which are related to this topic area.

Second, the “Coaching Essentials in Football” section covers the definition of a coach, competencies, leadership, effective coaching methods (e.g., communication), and psychological aspects of training and practice. The topic modeling resulted in the inclusion of Topics 1, 2, 3, 10, and 13, which are related to this topic area. Third, “Psychological Skills for Performance Development” covers various psychotechnical approaches to improving soccer performance, including the development of psychological skills for goalkeeper performance development. The topic modeling resulted in the inclusion of Topics 4, 12, and 14 which are related to this topic area. Fourth, the “Developing the young player in Football” section covers parental coaching, talent development, education and support on how to succeed, and prevention of negative psychological factors in developing young players into elite players. The topic modeling resulted in the inclusion of Topics 5, 7, 8, and 9, which are related to this topic area.

We assessed the change in trends over time for each clustered topic area. The change in frequency of each topic area from 1990, when soccer psychology research was first identified, to 2022 is shown in Figure 3 . All four topic areas experienced similar increases and decreases from the 1990s to the early 2000s. However, since the mid-2000s, the topic areas of “Coaching Essentials in Football” and “Developing the young player in Football” have experienced a steep increase in frequency. The frequencies of the topic areas of “Psychological Skills for Performance Development” and “Motivation, Cognition, and Emotion” have also increased but with a more modest linear trend.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is behavsci-13-00787-g003.jpg

Frequency change for each subject area in football psychology.

The trend changes based on the frequency of each topic area shown in Figure 3 were evaluated by linear regression ( Table 2 ). The Durbin–Watson values were 0.263 (Developing the young player in Football), 0.272 (Coaching Essentials in Football), 0.784 (Psychological Skills for Performance Development), and 0.759 (Motivation, Cognition, and Emotion), respectively, and were not classified. The trend change was not statistically validated, even though both the frequency and the change in the chart showed an upward linear trend. Therefore, the change in the share of each year of the topic area was explored, and the trend change was statistically validated ( Table 3 ).

Trend classification using regression analysis of frequency change by topic area.

Trend classification using regression analysis of occupancy rate change by topic area.

Figure 4 shows the change in the share of each topic area by year. The topic area “Developing the young player in Football” had a share of 20–30%, except in 1997 (14.2%) and 2015 (41.5%). The topic area of “Coaching Essentials in Football” was characterized by a minimal representation of 0–20% prior to 1996 and experienced a substantial surge after 1996. Notably, in 10 years, this topic area had a share of 40% or more, and its contribution peaked between 2010 and 2020. However, we observed a large variation in its share over time.

An external file that holds a picture, illustration, etc.
Object name is behavsci-13-00787-g004.jpg

Changes in occupancy rate (%) of football psychology by subject area.

Table 3 shows the results of the trend analysis of the occupancy rate of each topic area using linear regression. The topic area “Developing the young player in Football” had a Durbin–Watson value of 1.554, which is close to 2, meaning the trend could be validated through the regression coefficient. The regression coefficient was 0.470 ( p = 0.006), which is a significant positive coefficient, indicating that this was a hot topic. The topic area “Essentials of Soccer Coaching” had a Durbin–Watson value of 0.908, which is not in the range of 1.5 to 2.5. Therefore, the trend was not statistically significant. The topic area “Psychological Skills for Performance Development” had a Durbin–Watson value of 1.981, which is close to 2, meaning the trend could be validated through the regression coefficient. The regression coefficient was −0.384, which is not statistically significant; thus, this topic area was categorized as cool. Finally, the topic area “Motivation, Cognition, and Emotion” had a Durbin–Watson value of 2.443, which is close to 2, meaning that the trend could be validated through the regression coefficient. The regression coefficient was −0.384 ( p > 0.027), which indicates a significant positive coefficient; therefore, this topic was classified as cold.

4. Discussion

4.1. topic area 1: developing the young player in football.

“Developing the young player in Football” is an area of research focusing on the importance of understanding the player development process in identifying and nurturing soccer talent. This topic area was organized into Topics 5, 7, 8, and 9. Topic 5 has explored how feedback from parents and coaches can influence youth development [ 30 , 31 ]. In addition, the most effective ways to provide feedback to young players have been investigated [ 32 , 33 ]. Approaches related to Topic 7 include how youth athletes could develop the skills and traits needed to succeed at the elite level, an exploration of effective strategies for identifying and nurturing talent in young athletes [ 34 ], and how coaches and programs can balance individual skill development with team success and cohesion [ 35 , 36 ]. Topic 8 explores the constructs of masculinity, attitudes, intentions, and behaviors within soccer-educational settings, the college or school level [ 37 , 38 ]. Furthermore, this topic aims to unravel how these norms might be manipulated by the prevalent school system and the post-pandemic sports culture [ 39 , 40 ]. This topic was investigated through a critical lens to understand the socio-cultural aspects of soccer and its effects on individual players’ behaviors. Topic 9 deeply investigates the pressing issue of injury risk, specifically focusing on concussions within the context of youth soccer. Research approaches related to this topic include the common types of brain-related injuries in soccer, including concussions, and how they can be prevented or managed [ 41 , 42 ]; methods that coaches and organizations can employ to mitigate the risk of concussion and head injury in youth soccer [ 43 , 44 ]; and evidence-based strategies that can be used to reduce the incidence of brain and head-related injuries in soccer players [ 45 , 46 ].

The process of effectively identifying and developing players with the potential for future success is becoming increasingly important [ 47 ]. The importance of these studies focusing on youth and adolescents is also evident in review studies related to athletic development. Kirkendall and Krustrup (2022) reported that among training programs research targeting women and all genders, a higher percentage of program interventions focused on youth and adolescent soccer players aged 6–18 years than adult soccer players [ 48 ]. However, effectively providing the necessary conditions for youth and young athletes to reach their potential takes more than just accumulating quantitative research. Studies that have attempted to address these issues can be found in this topic area. Psychological approaches and different training and support structures have been proposed to facilitate feedback and communication between coaches and parents at all levels, from the elite youth level onwards [ 49 , 50 ]. These research efforts have contributed to the consideration of more advanced communication methods and training systems for youth soccer players. In particular, the health and safety of athletes should be a top priority for youth sports teams and related organizations [ 51 ]. Part of the research in this topic area recognizes this importance and has contributed to the focus on “injuries” and related warnings and responses [ 52 ]. Furthermore, this research area has highlighted the importance of understanding the complex socio-cultural norms, especially masculinity, that permeate football at the educational level [ 53 ]. In some respects, these discourses have contributed to providing an opportunity to revisit policies and frameworks to ensure an inclusive and progressive environment for youth players.

The trends in this thematic area are a sharp increase in the frequency of research and a steady share after a certain period. After a certain period, the first paper in this topic area in the research period 1990–2022 was found in 1992. Although the frequency of research in this topic area fluctuates from year to year, there has been a steep increase since 2017, and the frequency has been increasing until now. The trend for increased frequency was not statistically significant; however, it was the only one of all topic areas to show a significant increase in share. An explosion in share was not observed by us either, but it was maintained steady in the 1990s, when the overall frequency of soccer psychology research was significantly lower. This suggests that this topic area can be expected to remain active according to the share regression model. Since the 1990s, the importance of psychological approaches in the development of youth players has been raised in various sports, including soccer [ 54 ]. Nevertheless, due to the lack of research approaches and infrastructure at the time, it seems to have been more discourse-driven than quantitative growth [ 55 ]. However, it is worth noting that, since the 2000s, there has been a growing consensus that the soccer development system for youth needs a major overhaul [ 56 ]. The impetus for this has come from the implications of most members of the system, including teams, coaches, players, and parents [ 57 , 58 ]. The market growth of the soccer sector and the business aspect of massive capital inflows have also given us the impetus to focus on the development system of youth elite sports [ 56 , 59 ]. This has allowed us to build an effective youth development system, which has been difficult to realize, and to support various research efforts to develop and improve the system [ 60 ]. This trend and flow in soccer area is interpreted by us as the reason for the growth in frequency and share of this study area. However, the psychological approach to youth development is far from complete. The sensitivity and the fearful nature of the youth generation to external stimuli are bound to be greatly influenced by changing times, societies, and systems. Therefore, we can cautiously predict that the field of psychological research with youth soccer players will continue to identify new research topics that can respond to new and anomalous paradigms.

4.2. Topic Area 2: Coaching Essentials in Football

“Coaching Essentials in Football” refers to research on coaching, which is an essential component of elite sports, including soccer. Research in this area explores the relationship between coaches and players and the effectiveness of different coaching styles and support structures. This topic area was organized into Topics 1, 2, 3, 10, and 13. Topic 1 addresses the importance of skill training for the motor tasks that soccer players need to perform. Relevant research has identified the most effective training methods and strategies for improving accuracy, speed, footwork, balance, and coordination [ 61 , 62 , 63 ]. Topic 2 keyword clusters show that studies have explored how the ‘coach’s status or role affects their identity and perception of their place in society [ 64 , 65 ], and how language and discourse can influence the formation and reinforcement of identity and bias [ 65 , 66 ]. Topic 3 research has examined how coaches can build effective relationships with athletes and how this can affect their motivation and performance [ 67 ]. Furthermore, studies on this topic have explored the common leadership styles in coaching and how they can affect team cohesion and success [ 68 , 69 ]. Topic 10 includes research examining how soccer coaches and players can effectively manage training load to optimize performance and reduce the risk of injury or burnout, the physiological and psychological factors that contribute to fatigue during training or competition, and how this fatigue can be mitigated [ 70 , 71 ], and how players and coaches can balance training and competition demands with the need for rest and recovery [ 72 , 73 ]. Topic 13 includes studies exploring how ball possession and distance affect the likelihood of scoring [ 74 , 75 ]; how different formations and positioning affect player behavior, team chemistry, and performance during a match; and the key factors that determine successful passes in soccer and how they vary across different areas and zones of the field [ 76 , 77 ].

Consistent with the sport-wide notion that coaches’ efforts to improve their coaching skills are fundamental to all sports and should be taken seriously, soccer psychology is one of the most active areas of coaching research [ 78 ]. The Essentials of Soccer Coaching emphasizes the multifaceted nature of soccer coaching. From technical development and psychological understanding to tactical acumen and load management, effective coaching brings together a range of areas to demonstrate the role of coaching in individual player and team achievement [ 79 ]. It has been reaffirmed that coaching is based on precise training to improve key skills such as accuracy, speed, footwork, balance, and coordination in player play. In addition, it has contributed to the provision of a range of applied coaching strategies in the tactical aspects of ball possession, positioning, passing, maneuvering, and formation to create scoring opportunities and defending effectively [ 80 ]. Insights into the application of social dynamics for efficient physical recovery and team cohesion, not just to improve individual and team performance, have been observed through various studies within this thematic area [ 81 ].

The research area “Coaching Essentials in Soccer” ranks high on the list of research areas in bibliographic analyses of soccer psychology research [ 48 , 82 ]. During the 1990–2022 research period, the first paper on this topic area was published in 1992. This topic area has increased in frequency, albeit with year-to-year variations, with a steep upward trend since 2017. No statistical significance was found in the trend classification for the increase in frequency, and no significant statistical trend classification was performed in the regression model for share; therefore, further exploration and measurement is needed to identify trends in this topic area. However, this topic has the highest frequency, a generally high share, and is an important topic for many studies. In particular, the recent surge in soccer training research is likely due to the relative increase in studies of training environments due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has limited evaluation of on-field performance [ 83 , 84 ]. While statistical significance is difficult to ascertain due to the erratic nature of the soccer coaching research field due to these internal and external factors, the highest publication and rapid increase in frequency is the most widespread research area. The post-COVID-19 changes can also be noted, as coaching and training-related research topics have been influenced by the overall research environment in sport during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to pre-COVID-19 [ 85 ]. In the post-pandemic era, it is worth noting whether the coaching and training environment has returned to pre-pandemic norms or whether new paradigms are being applied [ 86 ]. This will be an opportune time to observe and analyze the flow of research on soccer coaching and training in the post-pandemic environment, as well as to establish creative research directions in response to that flow.

4.3. Topic Area 3: Psychological Skills for Performance Development

The topic area “Psychological Skills for Performance Development” addressed psychological approaches to soccer performance development, including the intervention of coaching but focusing on psychological skills. This topic area was organized into Topics 4, 12, and 14. Topic 4 has translated into topics exploring the strategies goalkeepers use to effectively defend against penalty kicks [ 87 , 88 ], how goalkeepers can improve their ability to predict the direction and force of shots [ 89 , 90 ], and the physical and mental conditions required for optimal goalkeeping performance, and the strategy for developing and maintaining this [ 91 , 92 ]. Topic 12 is a cluster including psychological skills approaches that have been attempted to effectively harness perfectionism, which has advantages and disadvantages. Several research areas have addressed these issues, including the optimization of perfectionist tendencies through psychological skills training and the development and validation of psychological and physical training programs that consider energy metabolism, thresholds, and muscle loading for effective intensity setting [ 93 , 94 ]. Topic 14 explores the key factors that influence player decision making when carrying out the complex tasks presented in a soccer game; how soccer players’ expertise and competence develop over time; the roles of factors such as memory, attention, and knowledge in this process [ 95 , 96 ], and the most effective strategies for improving decision making in tight game situations [ 97 , 98 ]. Furthermore, research has explored ways to improve soccer players’ decision making and skill development using new technologies such as virtual reality and cognitive training programs [ 99 , 100 ].

One of the proven facts in this area of research is the ambivalence about perfectionism in soccer players. This is evidenced across almost all sports, and soccer is no exception [ 101 , 102 ]. This area of research has contributed to the demonstration of psycho-skills training for optimal perfectionism that can lead to excellence under pressure. In addition to physical skills, a player’s memory, attention, and domain knowledge are important factors in making split-second decisions during training or matches [ 103 ]. This highlights the importance of psycho-skills training for players, including goalkeepers, to clearly identify their roles and make effective decisions for each position [ 104 ]. In conclusion, the “Psychological Skills for Performance Development” topic area underscores the intricate interplay between the mind and body in soccer. Research within this topic area has contributed to the development and application of context-specific psychological skills training, from reaching an optimal state of perfectionism to effectively accomplishing the unique challenges faced by players in different positions. In addition, this area of research has shown that the correct decision making of players and all other units that make up a soccer match improves the quality of the game. On the other hand, advanced technologies such as virtual reality can effectively enhance the psychological and logical state of soccer players, which adds to the diversity of this research area.

Frequency measures and significance tests in the regression model show that the number of studies on this topic published each year is not decreasing. However, as the overall research area of soccer psychology has increased, the share of this topic area has decreased somewhat over time. For this reason, it appears to be a somewhat stagnant research area according to the share regression model. However, this is more related to the relative activation of other research areas rather than a decrease in interest in this topic area. Researchers such as Mills et al. (2012) suggested that athletes do not need to possess all of the skills recommended in the talent development literature to develop at an elite level [ 79 ]. Instead, the authors explain that some athletes can make the transition successfully even in the absence of some psychological skills [ 79 ]. In other words, it cannot be assumed that applying psychological skills to a talented athlete will automatically make them an elite athlete, as there are a variety of contextual and environmental factors, such as finances, health, and other personal circumstances, that can have a significant impact on an athlete’s likelihood of reaching an elite level [ 105 ]. It is because these factors have been ignored that various review studies of psychological skills training have been criticized for generalizing their findings by focusing on athletes at a specific developmental stage [ 106 ]. These limitations are also thought to have contributed to the lack of exponential growth in the number of studies and applications of psychological skills training. However, some studies have emphasized the importance of psychological skills training in the juvenile system. While psycho-skills training at the adult level is dependent on individual differences and influenced by contextual variables, it is important to note that psycho-skills training systems for youth should not be neglected [ 107 ]. According to several authors, perspectives on the adherence and success of these types of programs would be fundamentally different if they were targeted at younger athletes instead of focusing on more experienced athletes [ 108 ]. Furthermore, research on the development and validation of psycho-skills training across different ages and stages of athlete development would be valuable future work.

4.4. Topic Area 4: Motivation, Cognition, and Emotion

The topic area “Motivation, Cognition, and Emotion” was organized into topics that examined and evaluated psychological traits that occur in different situations experienced by soccer players. This topic area was organized into Topics 6 and 11. Topic 6 aims to understand professional soccer players’ experiences with burnout, with a focus on potential causes, such as overtraining, personal stressors, or the pressures of professional sports. Moreover, matches were determined and investigations were conducted to observe how stress and anxiety levels might affect players’ performance [ 109 , 110 ]. Research on this topic has also shown how relationships with coaches, teammates, and others influence players’ stress levels and mental health [ 111 , 112 ]. Topic 11 was examined to determine how players’ goal orientation (e.g., mastery goals versus performance goals) influences their performance on the field. This topic explores perceptions of self-efficacy among soccer players and its impact on performance [ 113 , 114 ]. This topic also explores how the team atmosphere affects players’ aggression and effort [ 114 , 115 ].

Given the different goal orientations of athletes, the research identified in this topic area provides insight into considering whether soccer players are more focused on mastery goals or performance goals [ 116 , 117 ], which will contribute to the development of personalized motivational strategies and help coaches and trainers provide more effective coaching [ 118 ]. In addition, this knowledge will lead to the development of interventions and strategies to support soccer players’ mental health and prevent issues such as burnout, depression, and severe anxiety [ 119 ]. It is also important to note that good mental health in individual players can set the stage for a positive team culture [ 117 ]. Overall, this topic has contributed to a more holistic understanding of soccer players’ mental health, which can improve the way players are coached, the way clubs are managed, and the way mental health is considered in soccer.

The first paper in the database collected for this study, from 1990, was found within this topic area. The frequency of studies increases and decreases every year, and even the share has been gradually decreasing since 2010. The regression model for the decrease in share was found to be statistically significant. Overall, we can cautiously diagnose that research in this topic area of soccer psychology has stagnated somewhat. This topic area is largely composed of studies that have used questionnaires to collect and evaluate data. However, most research in elite sports, including soccer, is increasingly focused on direct application to the field [ 120 ]. For a long time now, much of the research in soccer psychology has focused on practical approaches to developing physical, tactical, and technical factors with a psychological component [ 121 ]. These topics receive a lot of attention because they can have a big impact on immediate performance improvement, which lends itself to real-world soccer applications [ 122 ]. Furthermore, these field-oriented studies inevitably have a high proportion of interdisciplinary approaches, such as psycho-physiological, psycho-performance, and psycho-physical approaches [ 123 , 124 ]. Therefore, there are relatively few studies exploring psychological factors alone. Nevertheless, the exploration of psychological factors in players provides a foundation for the development of new psycho-skills training, psychophysiological programs in training and their application on the field [ 125 ]. Therefore, it is important to develop instruments with high reliability and validity to measure psychological factors in this area, and this effort is ongoing [ 126 , 127 , 128 ]. From the foregoing, it can be cautiously predicted that research in this topic area will continue to be of value through its multidisciplinary approach to topics across soccer psychology, including training, psychological skill development, and performance development in youth and adult populations.

5. Conclusions

This study aimed to identify the knowledge structure of and research trends in soccer research from 1990–2022. Topic modeling resulted in 14 topics. The topic area “Essential Coaching in Soccer” was the most frequent, but not statistically trending. However, coaching, including training, is expected to continue to be an important research topic as it is a key requirement for success in the highly competitive world of elite soccer. Interest in the research area of “psychological skills for performance development” has waned in recent years, possibly due to the dominance of other subjects rather than a lack of interest. There are a number of cutting-edge interventions and problem-solving attempts in this area, providing opportunities for qualitative and quantitative expansion. “Motivation, cognition, and emotion” is a vastly underappreciated topic area in soccer psychology. This may be due to the fact that recent soccer research has emphasized the importance of rapid on-field application, resulting in fewer attempts at survey-based psychological assessment. However, measuring psychological factors contributes to the study of soccer psychology through new methodologies and theoretical backgrounds. Recognizing the important role that psychological factors play in players’ performance and mental management and providing new research directions and approaches with direct field application will advance soccer psychology research. Based on the theoretical basis of previous studies, this study searched for articles in WOS alone, but it is necessary to conduct an approach to identify the knowledge structure of soccer-psychology research topics that exist in a wider range of indexes and databases. Therefore, insights from an integrative perspective of data collection and analysis of academic databases including WOS, Scopus, and SportDISCUS are proposed as a future research direction.

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

J.W.L. and D.H.H. contributed to the conception and design of this study. J.W.L. collected the database. J.W.L. performed the statistical analyses. J.W.L. and D.H.H. wrote sections of the manuscript and contributed to manuscript revision, they read, and approved the submitted version. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Institutional Review Board Statement

Not applicable.

Informed Consent Statement

Data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

NaijaSkul

Pool Papers

Soccer Papers, Dream International Research, Fortune Advance Fixtures, Fortune Soccer Matrix, RSK Papers

Rsk Papers

Week 28 Pool RSK Papers, Bob Morton, Soccer – UK 2021/2022 Season

Week 28 Pool RSK Papers 2021: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin, ...

Week 26 Pool RSK Papers, Bob Morton, Soccer – UK 2021/2022 Season

Week 26 Pool RSK Papers 2021: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin, ...

Week 24 Pool RSK Papers 2020: Soccer, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, WinStar, BigWin

Week 24 Pool RSK Papers 2020: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin, ...

rsk papers

Week 47 Pool RSK Papers 2022: Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer X Research

Week 47 Pool RSK Papers 2022: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin ...

Week 49 Pools RSK Papers, Bob Morton, Soccer – Aussie 2021 Season

Week 49 Pool RSK Papers 2021: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin, ...

Week 6 Pool RSK Papers 2022: Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer X Research

Week 6 Pool RSK Papers 2022: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin ...

Week 20 Pool RSK Papers 2020: Soccer, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, WinStar, BigWin

Week 20 Pool RSK Papers 2020: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin, ...

Week 51 Pools RSK Papers, Bob Morton, Soccer – Aussie 2021 Season

Week 51 Pool RSK Papers 2021: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin, ...

Week 13 Pool RSK Papers, Bob Morton, Soccer – UK 2021 Season

Week 13 Pool RSK Papers 2021: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin, ...

Week 19 Pool Result/Fixture 2020: Classified Pools Result/Fixtures 2020/2021

Week 20 Pool Result/Fixture 2020: Classified Pools Result/Fixtures 2020/2021

Week 20 Pool Result 2020; Week 20 Pool Fixture 2020; Week 20 Pool Result for ...

pool-papers

Week 4 BigWin Soccer Late News for Sat 1 Aug 2020 – UK 2020/2021

BigWin Soccer Late News Papers Get Football Pools Papers with out hastles, as published by ...

Week 4 Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer X Research – UK 2020/2021

Rsk Pool Papers This Week We publish Soceer Research, Capital International, BigWin Soccer, WinStar, Bob ...

Research Paper

The psychology of sports injuries and recovery.

Nobody wants to get hurt while playing the sport they most love. But unfortunately, injuries are a part of the sport. Injuries are one of the major contributing factors to the mental health of today’s athletes. You can perform anytime and your career could be over in no time. One moment you may be representing a first-team or country, but the next moment an unexpected injury can completely shatter your dreams. Unfortunately, not all athletes have a backup plan they can rely on if their sports dreams end abruptly. You know you are isolated from your friends and family because you feel so. Injuries are the worst part of playing sports and being an athlete. It can push athletes back several steps and it will require the athlete to go through a lot to get back to normal form. Getting injured can also injure the athlete’s mental health, it’s not just a physical thing. Carrying the fear of getting reinjured again throughout the rest of an athlete’s career is not easy. Major Injuries surely can have a huge negative impact on athletes’ mental health. A pullback from sports can lead to serious mental health problems, such as anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and more. Also poor or unstable mental health can slow down the recovery period and make the rehabilitation journey even harder. 

According to Margot Putukian (2015), Injuries do have a negative impact on athletes’ mental health, it’s drastic what athletes can go through (mentally) when it comes to injuries and the significance of them. It is life-threatening because some athletes go through suicidal ideation. Injury is a major stressor for athletes and one that can pose significant challenges. Student-athletes must handle rigorous academic as well as athletic demands that require time as well as significant physical requirements (Putukian abstract para.2). Trying to perform and succeed in the classroom and on the playing field has become more difficult as the demands and expectations have increased (Putukian abstract para.2). If an athlete is injured, these stressors increase. Stress is an important antecedent to injuries and can play a role in the response to, rehabilitation, and return to play after injury (Putukian abstract para.2). The psychological response to injury can trigger and/or unmask mental health issues including depression and suicidal ideation, anxiety, disordered eating, and substance use/abuse (Putukian abstract para.2). There are barriers to mental health treatment in athletes. They often consider seeking help as a sign of weakness, feeling that they should be able to ‘push through’ psychological obstacles as they do physical ones (Putukian abstract para.2). Athletes may not have developed healthy coping behaviors making the response to injury especially challenging. 

Another idea, by Angela H Nippert and Aynsley M Smith (2008), is that athletes who get injured never come back the same, when it comes to self-esteem, personality, etc. Injuries make a huge impact on those factors and it will require the athletes to work very hard to earn those factors back. Injury rates are high among children and adolescent athletes (Nippert abstract para.2). Psychosocial stressors, such as personality, history of stressors, and life event stress can influence injury occurrence (Nippert abstract para.2). After an injury, those same factors plus athletic identity, self-esteem, and significant others such as parents, coaches, and teammates can affect injury response, recovery, and subsequent sports performance (Nippert abstract para.2). Goal setting, positive self-talk, attribution theory, and relaxation or mental imagery are psychological interventions that can help injured athletes cope with psychosocial stressors (Nippert abstract para.2). Medical professionals should be aware of the potential influence that psychosocial stressors and psychological interventions can have on injury occurrence, injury recovery, and sports performance (Nippert abstract para.2).

An example of an athlete who had their career ended by injuries and has fallen victim to mental health issues is the American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks Derrick Rose. There was a time when Derrick Rose was considered one of the best players in the NBA. he was the MVP. he was quick and agile. He was amazing. He changed positions at point guard. But one day in April 2012 changed the course of his career forever. Rose went down in excruciating pain with what looked to be a severe knee injury, and it was later revealed that he had torn his ACL. One of the biggest WHAT IFS. His career has never been the same. He missed all of the 2012-13 campaigns while recovering from the injury, and when he tried to return in 2013-14, he tore his meniscus in his other knee, making his comeback seem that much more improbable. The world will never know how good Derrick Rose actually could have been. He only had three fully healthy seasons to start his career, and even then, he erred on the side of inefficiency. Derrick Rose is still playing professional basketball and he is currently playing for the New York Knicks but nobody will ever know what his full potential could have possibly looked like and, sadly, he couldn’t reach his full potential due to several injuries.

A third writer. Chao-Jung Hsu (2016) seems to think that most athletes who come back after recovering from an injury, lack confidence and always carry the fear of getting reinjured. Fear of reinjury after a sports injury can negatively affect the recovery of physical impairments, reduce self-report function, and prevent a successful return to sport. Athletes with high fear of reinjury might benefit from a psychologically informed practice approach to improve rehabilitation outcomes (Hsu abstract para.2). The application of psychologically informed practice would be to measure fear of reinjury in injured athletes and provide interventions to reduce fear of reinjury to optimize rehabilitation outcomes (Hsu abstract para.2). Fear of reinjury after a sports injury can lead to poor rehabilitation outcomes. Incorporating principles of psychologically informed practice into sports injury rehabilitation could improve rehabilitation outcomes for athletes with high fear of re-injury. 

One of the best examples when it comes to injuries ruining careers and mental health has to be Ronaldo Nazario. Daniel Marland (2021) helps us learn more about what happened to Ronaldo. Ronaldo Nazario is a famous Brazilian former professional soccer player who suffered from major knee injuries, it affected him physically and mentally and it also affected his soccer career. Ronaldo was transferred in 1994 from Cruzeiro to PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands, where he scored 55 goals in 56 games and won the 1995 league championship and the 1996 Dutch Cup (Marland para.3). After switching to FC Barcelona of Spain for the 1996–97 season, he scored 34 goals in 37 appearances and helped his team capture the Spanish Super Cup. Because of his success, Ronaldo was paid $27 million by Inter Milan to play for the Italian club in 1997, a record at the time (Marland para.3). At Inter his excellent dribbling skills and knack for scoring goals earned him the nickname “El Fenomeno.” In 1997 Ronaldo became the first player to win FIFA’s Player of the Year award two years in a row. In 1999, however, he suffered a serious knee injury that left him unable to play for almost two years (Marland para.5). Dismissing concerns that his career was over, Ronaldo returned to competitive play in 2001. At the 2002 World Cup, he scored eight goals to earn the Golden Shoe award as the tournament’s top scorer and helped Brazil win its fifth World Cup championship (Marland para.6). He kept up his amazing stats and achievements even after getting injured. He played with no fear until it happened again (Marland para.6). While playing for the Italian powerhouse AC Milan in 2008, Ronaldo ruptured a tendon in his left knee. the same type of injury that had occurred in his right knee in 1999. After that, he lost it (Marland para.6). He went back to his home country and played for a Brazilian team, not as competitive as before, and he abruptly retired from the sport in February 2011 (Marland).

The downfall of el fenomeno will forever be one of the biggest “WHAT IFS” in soccer’s history. Ronaldo was arguably robbed of his prime years by a series of serious injuries from which he never truly recovered. Injuries ruined his career and his mental health and his physical health and his mentality and his motivation. He didn’t carry the fear of getting re-injured, he was playing with full passion and energy after coming back from the first injury but unfortunately, it happened again, possibly because his mental health wasn’t stable. Nobody knows.

Another good example is Zlatan Ibrahimović. Sana Noor Haq fills us in about what happened with Zlatan and how he suffered an ACL injury and how it affected his playstyle on the pitch. Zlatan Ibrahimović is a Swedish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club AC Milan and the Sweden national team. He tore his ACL while playing for AC Milan but he decided to not have surgery yet and finish the league with his team. The Swedish striker revealed on social media that he has played the last six months of the season without an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his left knee (Haq). Zlatan also stated that he “Took more than 20 injections in six months. Emptied the knee once a week for six months (Haq). Painkillers every day for six months. Barely slept for six months because of the pain. Never suffered so much on and off the pitch.”. After a stressful season for Zlatan, AC Milan won the league (Haq). The Rossoneri won 3-0 against Sassuolo to clinch their first Serie A title in over a decade, ending the season on 86 points — two points ahead of runners-up Inter Milan. “I made something impossible into something possible. In my mind I had only one objective, to make my teammates and coach champions of Italy because I made them a promise (Haq para.6). Today I have a new ACL and another trophy,” Ibrahimović added. Despite his injury, Ibrahimovic played 23 out of 28 league games last season and scored eight goals, according to the Milan website (Haq para.8). He played with a torn ACL, the injury didn’t stop him, his mind is unstoppable (Haq para.8). After the season was over he decided to get the surgery done and repair his ACL (Haq para.9). But given that his contract ends this summer, and he is likely to miss the first half of the 2022/23 season following his operation, Ibrahimović’s future at the club remains uncertain (Haq para.10). The world still doesn’t know if Zlatan will keep playing after recovering or if he will retire. 

There can be no doubt that an athlete can get back fully to his old form after recovering from a major injury. Major injuries surely have a huge negative impact on athletes’ mental health, but it depends from player to player, mentality to mentality. Some players will not give up after getting injured and keep pushing and getting back to doing what they love. A minor setback for a major comeback is the perfect mentality every injured athlete should keep in their head while going through rehabilitation. Stable mental health will surely help speed up the recovery.

Works Cited

AM;, Nippert AH;Smith. “Psychologic Stress Related to Injury and Impact on Sport Performance.” Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Clinics of North America, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18395654/.

Haq, Sana Noor. “Zlatan Ibrahimović: Plagued with Injury, AC Milan Star Says He Took ‘Painkillers Every Day for Six Months’.” CNN, Cable News Network, 27 May 2022, https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/27/football/zlatan-ibrahimovi-knee-injury-ac-milan-spt-intl.

M;, Putukian. “The Psychological Response to Injury in Student Athletes: A Narrative Review with a Focus on Mental Health.” British Journal of Sports Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26719498/.

Marland, Daniel. “Ronaldo Nazario Suffered One of Football’s Most Horrific Injuries 21 Years Ago Today.” SPORTbible, SPORTbible, 12 Apr. 2021, https://www.sportbible.com/football/news-ronaldo-nazario-suffered-one-of-footballs-most-horrific-injuries-20210412.

TL;, Hsu CJ;Meierbachtol A;George SZ;Chmielewski. “Fear of Reinjury in Athletes.” Sports Health, U.S. National Library of Medicine, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27590793/. 

Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.

css.php

Need help with the Commons?

Email us at [email protected] so we can respond to your questions and requests. Please email from your CUNY email address if possible. Or visit our help site for more information:

CUNY Academic Commons logo

  • Terms of Service
  • Accessibility
  • Creative Commons (CC) license unless otherwise noted

Twitter logo

Read our research on: Immigration & Migration | Podcasts | Election 2024

Regions & Countries

Migrant encounters at the u.s.-mexico border hit a record high at the end of 2023.

The U.S. Border Patrol had nearly 250,000 encounters with migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico in December 2023, according to government statistics . That was the highest monthly total on record, easily eclipsing the previous peak of about 224,000 encounters in May 2022.

A line chart showing that 2023 ended with more migrant encounters at U.S.-Mexico border than any month on record.

The monthly number of encounters has soared since 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic temporarily forced the U.S.-Mexico border to close and slowed migration across much of the world . In April 2020, the Border Patrol recorded around 16,000 encounters – among the lowest monthly totals in decades.

This Pew Research Center analysis examines migration patterns at the U.S.-Mexico border using  current  and  historical data  from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the federal agency that includes the U.S. Border Patrol. The analysis is based on a metric known as migrant encounters.

The term “encounters” refers to two distinct types of events:

  • Apprehensions: Migrants are taken into custody in the United States, at least temporarily, to await a decision on whether they can remain in the country legally, such as by being granted asylum. Apprehensions are carried out under  Title 8 of the U.S. code , which deals with immigration law.
  • Expulsions: Migrants are immediately expelled to their home country or last country of transit without being held in U.S. custody. Expulsions are carried out under Title 42 of the U.S. code, a previously  rarely used section of the law  that the Trump administration invoked during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic . The law empowers federal health authorities to stop migrants from entering the country if it is determined that barring them could prevent the spread of contagious diseases. The Biden administration stopped the use of Title 42 in May 2023, when the federal government declared an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency .

It is important to note that encounters refer to events, not people, and that some migrants are encountered more than once. As a result, the overall number of encounters may overstate the number of distinct individuals involved.

This analysis is limited to monthly encounters between ports of entry involving the Border Patrol. It excludes encounters at ports of entry involving the Office of Field Operations.

Since then, the monthly number of migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border has surpassed 200,000 on 10 separate occasions. That threshold previously hadn’t been reached since March 2000, when there were about 220,000 encounters.

It’s not clear whether the recent high numbers of encounters at the border will persist in 2024. In January, encounters fell to around 124,000 , according to the latest available statistics.

  • Apprehensions: Migrants are taken into custody in the U.S., at least temporarily, to await a decision on whether they can remain in the country legally, such as by being granted asylum. Apprehensions are carried out under  Title 8 of the U.S. code , which deals with immigration law.

A stacked bar chart showing that use of Title 42 began during coronavirus pandemic and ended in May 2023.

  • Expulsions : Migrants are immediately expelled to their home country or last country of transit without being held in U.S. custody. Expulsions are carried out under Title 42 of the U.S. code, a previously  rarely used section of the law  that the Trump administration invoked during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The law empowers federal health authorities to stop migrants from entering the country if it is determined that barring them could prevent the spread of contagious diseases. In the early months of the pandemic in the U.S., the Border Patrol relied heavily on Title 42 to expel most of the migrants it encountered at the border. The Biden administration stopped the use of Title 42 in May 2023, when the federal government declared an end to the COVID-19 public health emergency . Since then, the Border Patrol has been apprehending migrants within the U.S. instead of expelling them from the country.

Related:  Key facts about Title 42, the pandemic policy that has reshaped immigration enforcement at U.S.-Mexico border

Who is crossing the U.S.-Mexico border?

An area chart showing that a growing share of migrant encounters involve people traveling in families.

In December 2023, most encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border (54%) involved migrants traveling as single adults, while 41% involved people traveling in families and 5% involved unaccompanied minors.

In recent months, a growing number of encounters have involved people traveling in families. In December 2023, the Border Patrol had nearly 102,000 encounters with family members, up from around 61,000 a year earlier.

There has also been a shift in migrants’ origin countries. Historically, most encounters at the southwestern border have involved citizens of Mexico or the Northern Triangle nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. But in December 2023, 54% of encounters involved citizens of countries other than these four nations.

An area chart showing that most border encounters now involve people from countries other than Mexico and Northern Triangle.

Venezuelans, in particular, stand out. Nearly 47,000 migrant encounters in December 2023 involved citizens of Venezuela, up from about 6,000 a year earlier. The number of encounters involving Venezuelans was second only to the approximately 56,000 involving Mexicans in December 2023.

There has also been a sharp increase in encounters with citizens of China, despite its distance from the U.S.-Mexico border. The Border Patrol reported nearly 6,000 encounters with Chinese citizens at the southwestern border in December 2023, up from around 900 a year earlier.

How do Americans view the situation at the border?

The American public is broadly dissatisfied with how things are going at the border, according to a new Pew Research Center survey .

Eight-in-ten U.S. adults say the government is doing a very or somewhat bad job dealing with the large number of migrants seeking to enter the U.S. at the border with Mexico. And nearly as many say the situation is either a “crisis” (45%) or a “major problem” (32%) for the U.S.

Note: This is an update of a post originally published on March 15, 2021.

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Sign up for our weekly newsletter

Fresh data delivered Saturday mornings

What’s happening at the U.S.-Mexico border in 7 charts

Most americans are critical of government’s handling of situation at u.s.-mexico border, after surging in 2019, migrant apprehensions at u.s.-mexico border fell sharply in fiscal 2020, how border apprehensions, ice arrests and deportations have changed under trump, most popular.

About Pew Research Center Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank that informs the public about the issues, attitudes and trends shaping the world. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts .

SolutionTipster

Week 14 Pools RSK Papers 2022: Soccer, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin

October 2, 2022 Obinna FOOTBALL POOLS , POOL RSK PAPERS 6

Week 14 pools RSK papers page.

Here, we furnish you with weekly and current pool rsk papers for your forecast and winning pleasure.  Click on the images to view more clearly. Enjoy

RSK PAPERS – Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital International

Unfortunately we cannot upload rsk papers yet due to the legal threat.

However, for those that stake their coupons through us hand via our online pool agent office, the papers will be dully delivered to you in the whatsapp group.

Special Advance Fixtures

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Right On Fixtures

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Temple of Draw

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Capital International

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Pools Telegraph

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Soccer X Researc h

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Soccer Percentage

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Week 14 Pools RSK Papers…. Enjoy your Forecast

Also check –  Week 14 Pools SURE banker room

TO VIEW PREVIOUS WEEKS,GO TO WEEKLY POOLS RSK PAPERS ARCHIVE

For Livescores update see – Livescoresupdate.com

Oby goodevening you sir. Pls kindly make the temple of draw paper to be clear like that of last week anytime win I must appreciate your effort s . Thanks remain blessed.

Gud p.m sir,pls upload bob morton paper,capital international paper and others.Thanks sir.

Very good updating, keep on

Week14 2022 (22*33*47)THis is 3/3

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Copyright © 2024 | Pools Betting Blog by SolutionTipster Web Services

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Football Pool fixtures and Result, Daily Betting Tips, Banker Room, Pool Nap Market, Pool Discussion room, pool result, pool fixture, pool fixtures this week, pool result today saturday, pool fixture for this week, soccer fixtures, advance pool fixtures, special advance fixtures, live score fixtures, pool panel results, pool fixtures, weekly pool fixtures, this week pool fixtures, pool results, pool fixture of the Week

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Week 30 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton – Capital Intl – Soccer X Research – etc

Week 30 rsk papers 2024: Welcome to Sportatips here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer ‘X’ Research) and papers from other other publishers such as WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Temple of Draws, Soccer Standard, Dream International Research, and Fortune Matrix papers. To Download RSK papers: Click on the papers!

SPECIAL ADVANCE FIXTURES

week-30-special-advance-fixtures-2024

Join Airobet Online Football Pool Betting To enjoy Amazing Bonuses and Fast Cashout. To register Click www.airobet.com   

Airobet The Best Online Football Pool Betting

POOL TELEGRAPH

week-30-pools-telegraph-2024

TEMPLE OF DRAWS

Week-30-temple-of-draw-2024-page-1

RIGHT ON FIXTURES

Week-30-Right-On-2024

SOCCER ‘X’ RESEARCH

week-30soccer-x-research-2024

SOCCER PERCENTAGE & LEAGUE TABLE

week-30-soccer-x-research-2024-percentage

CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL

Week-30-Capital-International-2024

DREAMS INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH

Available on Demand .. WhatsApp Only : +234 8071885074

soccer research paper week 13 2022

You May Also Like

rsk-papers-sportatips

Week 26 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton – Capital Intl – Soccer X Research – etc

soccer research paper week 13 2022

Week 3 Pool Nap Market 2023: Nap Draws Market This Weekend

discussion room

Week 36 Discussion Room 2023, Here you can post your games and exchange views on last week games.

guest

This week I’m dropping No 1 and 17 as surest banker draw. We can never lack after playing this two surest.

FortuneSoccer.com

  • Advertise Here
  • Pool Code For This Week
  • Football Draws | Pool Draw This Week
  • Bigwin & Telegraph Papers
  • How To Calculate Pool Winning
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms of Services

Week 18 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin

Week 18 rsk pool papers 2023: soccer, bob morton, capital intl, winstar, bigwin, rsk papers week 18 2023.

Week 18 rsk papers 2023 : Welcome to Fortune Soccer here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer ‘X’ Research) and papers from other publishers such as Dream International Research, Fortune ‘X’ Matrix, WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Temple of Draws, Soccer Standard, and Dream International Fixtures.

To Download CBK papers: Follow this link !

CBK PRESS POOLS PAPERS © (POOLS JOURNALS)

Ω  DREAM INTERNATIONAL FIXTURES

Ω   DREAM INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH

Ω  FORTUNE ‘X’ MATRIX

SPECIAL ADVANCE FIXTURES

week 18 special advance fixtures 2023

Buy The Best Football Pools Papers

CBK Press Advert

CAPITAL INTERNATIONAL

week 18 capital international 2023 page 1

Related:  Week 18 Pool Late News Papers 2023: Bigwin Soccer, Pool Telegraph

SOCCER ‘X’ RESEARCH

week 18 soccer x research 2023 page 1

SOCCER PERCENTAGE AND LEAGUE TABLE

week 18 soccer x research 2023 percentage

BIGWIN SOCCER

week 18 bigwin soccer 2023 page 1

POOLS TELEGRAPH

week 18 pools telegraph 2023 page 1

CBK POOLS PAPERS

CBK Pools Papers (with Pool Late News )

[PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND SUNDAY]

powered by FortuneSoccer.com

Tags : RSK Papers

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Recommended Websites

Pools results links.

  • Week 34 Pool Result for Sat 24 Feb 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 33 Pool Result for Sat 17 Feb 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 32 Pool Result for Sat 10 Feb 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 31 Pool Result for Sat 3 Feb 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 35 Pool Result for Sat 2 Mar 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 30 Pool Result for Sat 27 Jan 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 29 Pool Result for Sat 20 Jan 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 28 Pool Result for Sat 13 Jan 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 36 Pool Result for Sat 9 Mar 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 37 Pool Result for Sat 16 Mar 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 38 Pool Result for Sat 23 Mar 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 39 Pool Result for Sat 30 Mar 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 27 Pool Result for Sat 6 Jan 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 40 Pool Result for Sat 6 Apr 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 41 Pool Result for Sat 13 Apr 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 42 Pool Result for Sat 20 Apr 2024 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 26 Pool Result for Sat 30 Dec 2023 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 25 Pool Result for Sat 23 Dec 2023 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 24 Pool Result for Sat 16 Dec 2023 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 23 Pool Result for Sat 9 Dec 2023 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 22 Pool Result for Sat 2 Dec 2023 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 21 Pool Result for Sat 25 Nov 2023 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 20 Pool Result for Sat 18 Nov 2023 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 19 Pool Result for Sat 11 Nov 2023 – UK 2023/2024
  • Week 18 Pool Result for Sat 4 Nov 2023 – UK 2023/2024

IMAGES

  1. Major Research Paper: Soccer and International Relations

    soccer research paper week 13 2022

  2. Soccer Research Project by Common Core English With Ease

    soccer research paper week 13 2022

  3. African Origins of Soccer Research Paper (1)

    soccer research paper week 13 2022

  4. 182 ⭐ Winning Sports Research Paper Topics

    soccer research paper week 13 2022

  5. 😍 Soccer research paper outline. Essays on Soccer. Free Examples of

    soccer research paper week 13 2022

  6. Week 40 Pool RSK Papers 2021: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X

    soccer research paper week 13 2022

VIDEO

  1. Soccer Predictions Today 25/06/2023|Football Predictions Today|Betting Tips Today

  2. Correct Score Today|Soccer Predictions Today|Football Predictions Today|Betting Tips Today

  3. 2023 2024 Football Part II Question 50

  4. 2023 2024 Football Part II Question 49

  5. 2023-2024 Football Part II Question 47

  6. 2022 2023 Soccer Part I Question 50

COMMENTS

  1. Week 13 Pool RSK Papers 2022: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X

    Week 13 rsk papers 2022: Welcome to Fortune Soccer here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer 'X' Research) and papers from other other publishers such as WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Temple of Draws, Soccer Standard, Dream Intern...

  2. Pool RSK Papers

    Now you can find the pool rsk papers - Soccer X Research, Capital International, Bob Morton, rsk pool papers, rsk pool papers this week from FortuneSoccer.com Week 33 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin Published in Pool RSK Papers - Soccer, Capital, Bob Morton by @FortuneSoccer • 0 Comments

  3. Rsk Papers

    Pools rsk papers, rsk pool papers ,rsk pool papers this week, pool rsk paper for this week, soccer research pool paper, Bob Morton, rsk pool papers, rsk papers this week. Week 34 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, BigWin Week 34 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin ...

  4. Week 13 Pools RSK Papers 2022: Soccer, Bob Morton, Capital Intl

    Bob Morton Capital International Pools Telegraph Soccer X Research Soccer Percentage BigWin Week 13 Pools RSK Papers…. Enjoy your Forecast Also check - Week 13 Pools SURE banker room TO VIEW PREVIOUS WEEKS,GO TO WEEKLY POOLS RSK PAPERS ARCHIVE For Livescores update see - Livescoresupdate.com

  5. Week 13 Pool RSK Papers 2022: Bob Morton

    To Download RSK papers: Click on the papers! Special Advance Fixtures. Right On Fixtures. Winstar. Bob Morton. Soccer X Research . Pools Telegraph . Soccer Percentage . Cartoon . Capital International BigWin. Week 13 Pools RSK Papers…. Enjoy your Forecast. Also check - Week 13 Pools SURE banker room. TO VIEW PREVIOUS WEEKS,GO TO WEEKLY ...

  6. Full article: Physical loading in professional soccer players

    1. Introduction. An annual macrocycle for professional soccer players is typically categorised into three distinct phases of pre-season (6 weeks), in-season (39 weeks) and off-season (7 weeks) (Reilly, Citation 2007).Throughout the in-season period, players may compete in 40-60 matches that could encompass domestic, continental and global competitions.

  7. Reducing Injuries in Soccer (Football): an Umbrella Review of Best

    Published: 21 September 2020 Reducing Injuries in Soccer (Football): an Umbrella Review of Best Evidence Across the Epidemiological Framework for Prevention Oluwatoyosi B. A. Owoeye, Mitchell J. VanderWey & Ian Pike Sports Medicine - Open 6, Article number: 46 ( 2020 ) Cite this article 37k Accesses 41 Citations 44 Altmetric Metrics Abstract

  8. Week 13 Pools RSK Papers 2023: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital

    Special Advance Right On Fixtures Big Win Bob Morton Temple of Draw Winstar Capital International Soccer X Research Pools Telegraph Dream International Research… Available on demand..Whatsapp Only +2347068570448 Soccer Percentage Week 13 Pools RSK Papers…. Enjoy your Forecast Also check - Week 13 Pools SURE banker room

  9. Data Analysis of Psychological Approaches to Soccer Research: Using LDA

    Abstract. This study identifies the topical areas of research that have attempted a psychological approach to soccer research over the last 33 years (1990-2022) and explored the growth and stagnation of the topic as well as research contributions to soccer development. Data were obtained from 1863 papers from the Web of Science database.

  10. POOL RSK PAPERS Archives

    Week 32 Pools RSK Papers 2024: Soccer X Research, Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Winstar, BigWin February 4, 2024 Obinna 4 Week 32 Pool RSK papers page Here, we furnish you with weekly and current pool RSK papers for your forecast and winning pleasure. Click on […]

  11. Week 13 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X

    POOLS TELEGRAPH CBK POOLS PAPERS CBK Pools Papers (with Pool Late News) [PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY AND SUNDAY] powered by FortuneSoccer.com Tags: RSK Papers « Week 13 Pool Draw for Sat 30, Sep 2023 - UK 2023/2024 Week 13 Pool Fixtures for Sat 30 Sep 2023 - UK 2023/2024 »

  12. Pool RSK Papers

    Week 13 Pool RSK Papers, Bob Morton, Soccer - UK 2021 Season Week 13 Pool RSK Papers 2021: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X Research, Winstar, BigWin, ... By NaijaSkul January 7, 2023 Read More Week 20 Pool Result/Fixture 2020: Classified Pools Result/Fixtures 2020/2021

  13. Week 12, 2022 RSK Soccer, Capital, Bob Morton Researching Papers for

    These are the Researching Forecasting Papers from Soccer Research, Capital International, and Bob Morton for Week 12, 2022. ... Capital International, and Bob Morton for Week 12, 2022. Enjoy!!!

  14. Research Paper

    Ronaldo was transferred in 1994 from Cruzeiro to PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands, where he scored 55 goals in 56 games and won the 1995 league championship and the 1996 Dutch Cup (Marland para.3). After switching to FC Barcelona of Spain for the 1996-97 season, he scored 34 goals in 37 appearances and helped his team capture the Spanish ...

  15. Migrant encounters at U.S.-Mexico border hit ...

    The U.S. Border Patrol had nearly 250,000 encounters with migrants crossing into the United States from Mexico in December 2023, according to government statistics. That was the highest monthly total on record, easily eclipsing the previous peak of about 224,000 encounters in May 2022. The monthly number of encounters has soared since 2020 ...

  16. Week 24 Pool RSK Papers 2022: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X

    Week 24 rsk papers 2022: Welcome to Fortune Soccer here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer 'X' Research) and papers from other other publishers such as WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Temple of Draws, Soccer Standard, Dream Intern...

  17. Week 15 Pool RSK Papers 2023

    Week 15 rsk papers 2023: Welcome to Sportatips here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer 'X' Research) and papers from other other publishers such as WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Temple of Draws, Soccer Standard, Dream Internatio...

  18. Week 23 Pool RSK Papers 2022: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X

    Week 23 rsk papers 2022: Welcome to Fortune Soccer here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer 'X' Research) and papers from other other publishers such as WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Temple of Draws, Soccer Standard, Dream Intern...

  19. Week 13 Pools RSK Papers 2020: Soccer, Bob Morton, Capital Intl

    Week 13 pools RSK papers page. Here, we furnish you with weekly and current pool rsk papers for your forecast and winning pleasure. ... Bob Morton, Capital and soccer research. 0 . 0. Reply. Felix obi. October 1, 2020 at 5:35 pm ... 2022/2023 POOL SEASON . August 15, 2022 116. SOLUTIONTIPSTER POOL EXPERTS ZONE… 2021/2022 POOL SEASON ...

  20. Week 11 Pool RSK Papers 2021: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X

    Week 11 rsk papers 2021: Welcome to Fortune Soccer here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer 'X' Research) and papers from other other publishers such as WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Temple of Draws, Soccer Standard, Dream Intern...

  21. Week 12 Pool RSK Papers 2023

    Week 12 rsk papers 2023: Welcome to Sportatips here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer 'X' Research) and papers from other other publishers such as WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Temple of Draws, Soccer Standard, Dream ...

  22. Week 14 Pools RSK Papers 2022: Soccer, Bob Morton, Capital Intl

    BigWin Week 14 Pools RSK Papers…. Enjoy your Forecast Also check - Week 14 Pools SURE banker room TO VIEW PREVIOUS WEEKS,GO TO WEEKLY POOLS RSK PAPERS ARCHIVE For Livescores update see - Livescoresupdate.com week 14 pools rsk papers 2022: CLick here to view the rsk papers , special advance fixtures, big win and winstar, temple of draws etc

  23. Week 30 Pool RSK Papers 2024: Bob Morton

    Week 30 rsk papers 2024: Welcome to Sportatips here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer 'X' Research) and papers from other other publishers such as WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Temple of Draws, Soccer Standard, Dream International Research, and Fortune Matrix papers.

  24. Week 18 Pool RSK Papers 2023: Bob Morton, Capital Intl, Soccer X

    Week 18 rsk papers 2023: Welcome to Fortune Soccer here we provide you with RSK papers (Bob Morton, Capital International, Soccer 'X' Research) and papers from other publishers such as Dream International Research, Fortune 'X' Matrix, WinStar, Bigwin Soccer, Special Advance Fixtures, Right On Fixtures, Weekly Pools Telegraph, Pools Telegraph, Te...