Enhancing Prevention of Injuries in Community Youth and Adult Amateur Football Players

ConditionsInjury Prevention in Sports Adherence

Trial statusRecruiting

Trial phaseNot applicable

Trial typeInterventional

Biological sexAll

Age10+

SponsorLinkoeping University

About this trial

This is a type 3 hybrid cluster randomised controlled trial, where implementation of the intervention is the primary outcome and preventive effectiveness is the secondary outcome.

The overall purpose of this study is to evaluate the added value of implementation support on the use and preventive effectiveness of the injury prevention exercise programme Knee Control+ in male and female, youth and adult amateur football teams.

Research questions

1. Does use and injury preventive effect of Knee Control+ differ between teams randomised to an intervention group receiving additional support for Knee Control+ use and teams randomised to a control group with standard access to digital Knee Control+ programme material? 2. Does coach self-efficacy to use Knee Control+, player motivation and player training dosage differ between the intervention and control groups? 3. What are the mediators and moderators that influence use of Knee Control+? 4. How well do the intervention and control groups adhere to Knee Control+ recommended use and is there an association between adherence and preventive efficacy? 5. How are different components of the support material used by the intervention group teams, and how is the implementation support perceived by administrators, coaches and players in the clubs (end-users) and by fitness coaches who educate coaches about the programme (intervention deliverers)? 6. How do coaches perceive their engagement to lead Knee Control+ training with their players and has this changed after having used the implementation support material?

Football teams will be randomised before the 2025 season to an intervention group receiving additional support for the implementation of Knee Control+ or to a control group without this support. All teams will have access to digital programme material via the Swedish Football Association.

Data on implementation of Knee Control+ and injuries (players only) will be collected weekly (coaches) and monthly (players) throughout the season using web-based questionnaires. Behavioural outcomes: for coaches self-efficacy, action and coping planning and perceived support from the club, and for players autonomous motivation, basic psychological needs and basic need support, will also be analysed.

Eligibility criteria

This trial accepts healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

Male and female, youth and adult amateur football teams

Teams participating in series for players 10 years or older

Teams with scheduled training at least twice per week during the season

All eligible players in the team are invited to participate, regardless of whether they have an injury or not at study start

Disqualifiers

Players with long-term injuries not planning to take part in match play in the 2025 season

Trial design

Design model

Parallel

Treatments tested in this trial

Support intervention for the use of Knee Control+
Behavioral
Coaches will be offered a smorgasbord of support interventions that they can choose from depending on their specific needs: physical and digital workshops before and during the study, site visits to their team, digital programme material, leaflets and social media posts. Fitness coaches will be responsible for physical workshops to train the football coaches.
Information about Knee Control+
Other intervention
Coaches receive information about injuries in football and the efficacy of injury prevention exercise programmes at a pre-season digital workshop, and guided to access the Knee Control+ programme from the Swedish Football Association website.

Treatment groups

1,600 Participants

are divided into 2 treatment groups

Group A: Intervention group receiving support for implementation of Knee Control+Experimental treatment 2 interventions

Group B: Control group with standard introduction of Knee Control+Active comparator 1 intervention

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

Use of Knee Control+

Proportion of weeks in the season with Knee Control+ training being performed at least 2 times in that week with sufficient completion of Knee Control+ components: for players 10-12 years, use of at least 3 of 6 main exercises OR for players \>12 years, use of at least 4 of 6 main exercises, as reported by coaches in a web-based questionnaire on a weekly basis.

Time frame

One season, 7 months, from start of the competitive season (April 2025) to the end of the competitive season (October 2025)

Secondary outcomes

Adherence to Knee Control+, cumulative utilisation

Proportion of training sessions where Knee Control+ was used, registered by coaches

Time frame

Reported weekly during the 7 months competitive season (April-October 2025)

Adherence to Knee Control+, utilisation frequency

Use of Knee Control+ n times/week

Time frame

Reported weekly (coaches) or monthly (players) during the 7 months competitive season (April-October 2025), as well as at follow-up 1 week after the season (November 2025)

Adherence to Knee Control+, duration fidelity

Minutes spent on Knee Control+ each session, reported by coaches

Time frame