The largest annual gathering of the football medicine community took place in London on 27-29 April 2019 as part of the Football Medicine Meets the Universe of Sport conference.
With the iconic Wembley Stadium providing the backdrop, more than 2,500 medical professionals from around 85 countries came together to learn from other sports, transferring knowledge and best practice in order to improve the health, athletic development and lifetime performance of the world’s athletes.
It marked the 28th edition of the conference, which is led by the Isokinetic Medical Group – an internationally recognised leader in sports medicine and rehabilitation – and a FIFA Medical Centre of Excellence.
The conference in numbers
3 days
2,506 delegates
At least 85 countries represented
"The Football Medicine Strategies meeting is a must-visit for anyone who is interested in football medicine," said Mark Fulcher, Editor-in Chief of the FIFA Medical Network. "It was fascinating to connect with clinicians from around the world who work with teams like the All Blacks, the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Indians. Football has much to learn, and indeed share, with these other sporting codes and teams."
The conference included a series of 15-minute lectures from experts covering a diverse range of topics - from prevention and rehabilitation methods to nutrition and the treatment of common football-related injuries and illnesses. One of the key focuses was on issues specific to female players. The lack of research relating to female players, as well as the differences in injury characteristics, were discussed. Preliminary data relating to studies on elite female players was presented by two of the FIFA Medical Centres of Excellence.
FIFA Medical Committee Chairman Dr Michel D’Hooghe and Mark Fulcher participated in the opening address. FIFA also shared a stand with the Isokinetic Medical Group and ran two workshops – one for the FIFA Medical Centres of Excellence and one about the FIFA Medical Network. The FIFA Medical Network team also recorded new content with a number of the conference speakers and medical experts. These experts included, amongst others, Liesel Geertseema, Roald Bahr and Tim Gabbett. Watch out for the new videos here.
For more information about the conference, join the FIFA Medical Network Isokinetic Conference group, visit the conference website or find the latest Twitter posts using the #FFMED hashtag on @FIFAMedical.