# Sports Science & Recovery · Football Level 7: Upper-Advanced

Football · Level 7: Upper-Advanced · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/football/level-7/sports-science-recovery/)

Sports Science & Recovery in Football (Level 7: Upper-Advanced) on Insporta: 100 sourced facts behind 10 tests. Covers: what gps tracking records in a.

The science around the matches rather than the athlete's body: tracking data, match demands, recovery, injury prevention, heat, head injuries, altitude, travel and the medical team.

## Test 1: What GPS tracking records in a match

- IFAB allowed EPTS in matches from 2015, as long as the device is safe and meets the approved standard. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)
- A snug vest keeps the unit high on the back, where it has a clear view of the sky and moves least. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)
- Deep stands and roofs block satellite signals, so antennas around the ground track the players instead. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)
- High-speed running is distance above a speed threshold, often around 20 km/h, whatever the player was doing. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)
- There is no single official threshold, so the numbers depend on which speeds a provider or club calls a sprint. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)
- Accelerations and decelerations capture the short, sharp efforts that distance totals miss. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)
- Cameras follow all twenty-two players and the ball, while a vest only records the player who wears it. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)
- Charles Reep notated matches by hand from the 1950s, camera tracking systems such as Prozone came in the late 1990s, and IFAB allowed wearables in 2015. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)
- The numbers are only useful once cleaned and shared, and their purpose is to shape the following days' work. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)
- The fastest band is also the shortest: a player sprints only a few hundred metres in a whole match. (Source: IFAB Laws of the Game (EPTS, 2015); FIFA EPTS quality programme; sports-science literature)

## Test 2: Match demands by position

- Tracking studies of top leagues put most outfield players between about ten and twelve kilometres. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))
- A side that runs a lot without the ball is chasing; the split shows whether effort went into attacking or defending. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))
- Keepers move constantly with play but rarely sprint, and usually cover around half an outfield player's distance. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))
- Barnes and colleagues found high-intensity and sprint distance up by roughly a third between 2006-07 and 2012-13. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))
- Ten kilometres of jogging is easier than eight with many sprints; coaches look at how fast and when the work was done. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))
- Pressing is repeated fast running to close down opponents, which shows up as high-intensity work out of possession. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))
- Effective playing time can vary by ten minutes or more between matches, and running falls with it. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))
- In Premier League data centre-backs cover least, then centre-forwards, then full-backs, with central midfielders covering most. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))
- Pressing turns a low-intensity phase into a burst of sprinting the moment the ball is lost, followed by a recovery. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))
- A wing-back is the only player on his side, so he attacks the byline and defends his own box, often sprinting between them. (Source: Bradley et al. 2009; Barnes et al. 2014 (Premier League match demands))

## Test 3: Recovery between matches

- Clubs count days from the match: MD+1 is the day after, MD-1 the day before. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)
- The day before a match is kept short and sharp, often including set-piece rehearsal, so players arrive fresh. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)
- Other methods help at the margins; enough good sleep is the foundation of recovery in every consensus paper. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)
- Cold water eases soreness, but some studies suggest regular use after strength work reduces its effect; the evidence is still debated. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)
- Chambers use air far below freezing for two or three minutes, and are used by some clubs to ease soreness. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)
- Easy movement keeps players loose without adding strain; those who did not play usually train harder instead. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)
- Players rate how they slept and how they feel, which helps staff spot who needs a lighter day. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)
- Sunday is MD+1 and Monday MD+2; counting back from the next Saturday, Thursday is MD-2 and Friday MD-1. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)
- Recovery starts on the pitch, continues with food on the way home and depends most on the sleep that follows. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)
- Saturday 15:00 to Tuesday 15:00 is 72 hours, and the evening kick-off adds five more. (Source: Sports-science consensus on recovery in football)

## Test 4: The FIFA 11+ programme

- The 11+ replaces a team's usual warm-up with running, strength, balance and jumping exercises. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)
- F-MARC worked with the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center and the Santa Monica Orthopaedic group. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)
- Studies show the effect when teams use it regularly, at least twice a week, as their normal warm-up. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)
- Building injury prevention into the warm-up means it happens every session without taking extra time. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)
- The programme targets knees, ankles and muscles, where many injuries happen without contact. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)
- The 11+ Kids adapts the idea for younger players, with more emphasis on balance and falling technique. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)
- The benefit depends on compliance; teams that drop it after a few weeks lose the protection. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)
- The programme opens with easy running, moves to strength and balance work and finishes with faster running. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)
- It only works if coaches can teach it correctly and the team makes it routine. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)
- The 11+ group had roughly a third fewer injuries than teams that kept their usual warm-up. (Source: FIFA 11+ manual; Soligard et al., BMJ 2008)

## Test 5: Hamstring injuries in football

- Hamstring injuries make up the largest single share of injuries at elite clubs in the UEFA study. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)
- Swedish professor Jan Ekstrand has run the study, which follows injuries at dozens of top European clubs. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)
- Ekstrand's group reported hamstring injuries increasing year on year, especially in training, as the game got faster. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)
- The exercise needs no equipment, but compliance is the problem: it is demanding and sore until players get used to it. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)
- Trials in Danish and Dutch amateur football found hamstring injuries roughly halved in the groups doing the exercise. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)
- Re-injury rates are high, so rehabilitation has to be complete before a player sprints again in matches. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)
- Most hamstring strains cost a few weeks, though severe ones involving the tendon can take months. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)
- Each stage tests the muscle a little more, ending with full-speed sprinting in training before a match. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)
- A mild hamstring strain costs weeks, a broken foot bone around two months, and an ACL rupture six to nine months or more. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)
- Most hamstring injuries happen during high-speed running, when the muscle is stretched as the leg swings through. (Source: UEFA Elite Club Injury Study (Ekstrand); Petersen 2011; van der Horst 2015)

## Test 6: Heat, cooling breaks and hydration rules

- The round-of-16 tie in Fortaleza on 29 June 2014 stopped for cooling breaks in the heat. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)
- The WBGT combines heat, humidity, sun and wind; above 32°C FIFA's guidance calls for cooling breaks. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)
- In hot countries and hot months an evening kick-off avoids the worst of the day's heat. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)
- Sweat cools only when it evaporates, and it evaporates less in humid air, so humidity raises the heat risk. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)
- Drinks breaks are brief; cooling breaks give players a few minutes out of the sun with water and ice. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)
- Cold towels on the neck and cold fluids out of the sun bring the temperature down quickly in the short time available. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)
- Several matches kicked off in the early afternoon for European television, in heat players called dangerous. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)
- The first cooling break came in Brazil in 2014, Qatar's World Cup was played in winter in 2022, and the Club World Cup heat row was in 2025. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)
- The stop comes around the 30th minute of each half, lasts about three minutes, and coaches use it to talk. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)
- In heat, competitions schedule a cooling break around the midpoint of each half. (Source: FIFA heat guidance; match reports)

## Test 7: Concussion protocols

- UEFA's procedure lets the referee stop play for up to three minutes while the team doctor examines the player. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))
- The guidance limited heading practice around matches and to one session a week. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))
- The coroner ruled Astle died of an industrial disease, a brain condition linked to years of heading heavy balls. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))
- Heading practice was removed for the youngest age groups and limited for older children. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))
- The graduated return lets adults play competitively from day 21 at the earliest, and only with no symptoms; younger players wait longer. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))
- Activity increases one stage at a time, and any returning symptom sends the player back a step. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))
- The referee may stop play, but the player continues only if the team doctor confirms he is fit to do so. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))
- Each stage lasts at least a day and a player moves on only if he has no symptoms. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))
- The referee's stoppage gives the doctor time to examine the player on the pitch before the decision. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))
- The FIELD study found former professionals about three and a half times as likely to die of neurodegenerative disease, but with lower death rates from other common causes. (Source: UEFA and FA concussion guidance; Mackay et al., NEJM 2019 (FIELD study))

## Test 8: Altitude matches

- Thinner air holds less oxygen, so players who live at sea level tire faster until they adapt. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)
- Johannesburg's stadiums, including Soccer City where the final was played, sit on the high veld. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)
- Maradona's side lost 6-1 in a World Cup qualifier in April 2009, one of Argentina's heaviest defeats. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)
- Less air resistance means shots and long passes carry further and faster, which unsettles visiting goalkeepers. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)
- Arriving within a day avoids the worst of the early symptoms; the alternative is to arrive a couple of weeks early to adapt. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)
- Morales played on a pitch near the summit of Sajama to show that football at altitude was possible. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)
- Home players live and train at altitude, while most visitors arrive without time to adapt. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)
- Mexico City is about 2,240 m, Bogotá about 2,640 m, Quito about 2,850 m and La Paz about 3,600 m. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)
- The ban came in May 2007 and the limit was raised to 3,000 metres a month later; after a year of protests led by Bolivia, FIFA suspended it in 2008. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)
- La Paz is the world's highest capital to host international football regularly. (Source: FIFA decisions 2007-08; match reports)

## Test 9: Travel and time zones

- Group matches were kept within western, central and eastern clusters so teams did not cross the continent between games. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)
- The city in the rainforest meant long flights and draining humidity, which England and others complained about. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)
- Travelling the day before lets the squad recover from the trip and hold its last session before the match. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)
- Several time zones and hot, humid matches make it harder to build fitness in the weeks before the season. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)
- Teams pick one base for the tournament and fly out to matches, so their routine stays the same. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)
- The eight stadiums sat in and around Doha, so teams needed no flights between matches. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)
- A charter leaves when the club wants, straight after a match if needed, and lets players rest on board. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)
- UEFA allows an official session at the stadium on the eve of the match, and most clubs fly home the same night. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)
- Canada had two host cities, Mexico three and the United States eleven. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)
- Australia now travels to the Middle East, East Asia and South-East Asia, often across many time zones in one window. (Source: FIFA and UEFA regulations; match reports)

## Test 10: The medical team on matchday

- Team doctors and paramedics began CPR within seconds and used a defibrillator on the pitch in Copenhagen. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)
- An ICD sits under the skin and shocks the heart if a dangerous rhythm returns; Eriksen played on for Brentford and Manchester United. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)
- Muamba's heart did not beat on its own for 78 minutes; he survived after long resuscitation but retired from football. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)
- The Advanced Trauma Medical Management in Football course trains doctors for emergencies on the pitch itself. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)
- It sets out who does what, where the equipment is and how an ambulance reaches the pitch, and it is practised in advance. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)
- Screening with questionnaires and ECGs picks up rare conditions that can cause sudden cardiac arrest in sport. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)
- Once the referee waves them on, the medical staff assess the player and decide whether he can go on. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)
- Every minute counts: early CPR and early defibrillation give the best chance of survival. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)
- The questionnaire and ECG come first; an echocardiogram follows only if something needs a closer look. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)
- Minutes matter in a cardiac arrest, so the defibrillator has to be at the side of the pitch, not in a room or outside. (Source: Premier League and UEFA medical regulations; match reports)

Sources: IFAB Laws of the Game / FIFA & UEFA regulations and technical reports / Opta & StatsBomb definitions / coaching literature / peer-reviewed research

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