Manchester (England), January 22 (Reuters Arabic Sports Service) – A study conducted by the International Federation of Professional Footballers (FIFPro) and published on Thursday showed that professional female football players who suffered three or more concussions may suffer from a decrease in attention span.
The research, part of the ongoing 10-year Drake Football Study, evaluated neurocognitive functions in 68 female players.
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The researchers reported that female athletes who said they had been concussed at least three times performed “significantly worse” on tasks requiring concentration than those who had suffered fewer or no concussions.
In football, these skills are related to tracking the ball and opponents, maintaining awareness of positional positions, and reaction speed during the match.
43 percent of the female players surveyed reported that they had suffered a concussion at least once, and the injury rate was the highest among female defenders, as 50 percent of them had suffered one or more concussions.
“In general, the study suggests that female soccer players do not show widespread cognitive problems over the course of their careers, but repeated concussions may have a significant impact on attention,” said Vincent Gottibarg, the federation’s medical director.
He added that more research is needed to determine whether new health recommendations are needed.
The female players’ performance was within the normal range for the general population in 11 out of 12 cognitive domains, and they performed above average in neuromotor response speed, i.e. how quickly the brain sends signals to the body, which the researchers attributed to the neuromuscular demands of professional soccer.
No widespread cognitive impairment was identified during the players’ playing career.
Gottebarg said the findings were similar to those of a parallel analysis of professional players published in 2024, which revealed that repeated concussions were associated with declines in simple and complex attention, but not in other areas of cognitive function.
“Historically, women’s soccer has been underrepresented in sports concussion research, which means this study contributes valuable evidence specific to women,” Gottebarg added.
He said the results underscored the need for strict concussion management and return-to-play protocols, especially in cases of recurrent head injuries.
The Drake Football Study was launched in 2019 in coordination with the Federation, to track physical and mental health among 170 male and female football players from around the world during and after their careers.
Prepared by Taha Muhammad for the Arabic Bulletin
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