Effect of “Fifa 11+” on the Pattern of Fundamental Movements in Under-14 Soccer Players

Abstract

Introduction: Increasing youth participation in soccer has several benefits, but it also brings risks of injury. The use of neuromuscular techniques is effective in preventing injuries, especially in periods of growth as occurs in puberty, which coincides with the development of fundamental basic movements. Therefore, it is important to implement and evaluate prevention programs that focus on neuromuscular control during this stage. Objective: To determine the effect of the FIFA 11+ over a six-week training period in order to quickly improve fundamental movement patterns in under-14 soccer players. Method: A quasi-experimental study that evaluated the fundamental movement patterns through the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) in 22 athletes who were divided into a control group (CG; N=11) and an experimental group (EG; N=11), submitted to the program FIFA 11+ for six weeks. The SPSS 20.0 program was used to analyze the data. Results: Statistically significant improvements were found in the in-line lunge (IL) and in the post-intervention FMS total scores in EG, as well as intergroup improvements when testing the deep squat (DS) in the EG, but not in both groups. Conclusions: The six week FIFA 11+ program did not produce significant improvements in players’ fundamental movements.

General versus sports-specific injury prevention programs in athletes: A systematic review on the effects on performance

“…Table 1 displays a summary of the study characteristics. Twenty one studies applied a training intervention in addition to regular training and 7 studies used a warm-up intervention in place of the usual warm-up routine [14] [18] [31] [32] [36] [37] [38]. Stated compliance in the 10 IPPs ranged from 24–100% [50] [26] [27] [48] [17] [18] [10] [14] [33] [21] whereas 18 were undefined [23] [24] [25] [19] [28] [29] [30] [47] [34] [35] [39] [40] [41] [42] [51] [49] [44] [46].…”

“…Of the 8 studies comprising of mixed IPPs, a single study assessed dynamic balance [17] as an aspect of performance, 3 static balance [17] [34] [18], 5 power (9 overall measures) [35] [14] [36] [17] [33], 4 strength (10 overall measures) [18] [38] [14] [36], 3 speed/agility (10 overall measures) [14] [36] [33] and 1 endurance [17]. The IPPs comprised 12–41 different exercises lasting between 10-120min.…”

“…As for static balance, the single legged eyes closed balance test in both legs [17] was significantly improved compared to the control group. Another study that applied the FIFA 11+ program failed to show improvement in functional stability amongst young male footballers [18]. A 20 week neuromuscular warm-up showed significant improvement COP, particularly in the dominant limb [34].…”

“…Or, could it be the case that programs with general training exercises attribute to this improvement and thus resulting in a one size fits all type approach. There are IPPs that integrate tasks that are more sports-specific e. g. using cutting maneuvers and jumping/landing exercises [17] [18]. Conversely, other IPPs aim to develop general fitness abilities indirectly related to the athlete’s sport e.g.…”

Desempenho isocinético de atletas de futsal sub-13 após a prática do protocolo Fifa 11+

“…Young people's futsal initiation has been occurring earlier, especially for boys, and thus greater attention is being dispensed to injury prevention programs at earlier ages. These athletes are still in a stage of development and maturation of their musculoskeletal and neural systems 6,7 . In fact, there are studies evidencing that the implementation of neuromuscular and physical conditioning training decreases the frequency and severity of injuries in athletes aged 13 to 19 years 6,8 .…”