FIFA 11+ Injury Prevention Program
The FIFA 11+ is an effective lower extremity (LE) injury prevention program developed by FIFA. Designed as a complete warm-up, it can be done in place of a regular warm-up and includes specific strengthening exercises and drills to reduce the likelihood of injuries in soccer players. By incorporating a set of straightforward warm-up exercises, individuals can significantly decrease their risk of ACL injuries.
This program can be adapted for various other sports that involve frequent pivoting movements. These warm up exercises take around 20 minutes to perform, and focus on trunk positioning while performing running, strength training, plyometrics and balance exercises.
FIFA 11+ Complete Warm-up Program Introduction
University of Iowa Sports Medicine supports the FIFA 11+ complete warm-up program to reduce LE injuries.
“Of the injury risk programs, the FIFA 11+ is one of the most studied and validated for soccer injury prevention, with up to 30-40% reduction in LE injury as a result of integrating into practice as a pre-participation warm up.”
Part I – Running exercises
Part II – Strength, plyometrics, balance
Part III – Running exercises
Download FIFA 11+ Summary Sheet
The program requires no special equipment, and can be implemented by coaches, physiotherapists, or by the player themselves. It involves plyometric exercises and drills that improve movement coordination, balance, and strength. Specifics of the movements themselves can be found on the download link below.
The exercises take around 20 minutes to perform, and involve
Running
Plyometrics (explosive exercises)
Strength
Balance