PROJECT PARTNERS
· FIFPRO (Football Players Worldwide), Hoofddorp, the Netherlands
· Mehiläinen NEO Hospital, Turku, Finland
· Drake Foundation, London, UK
· Push Sports, Maastricht, the Netherlands
FUNDING
The Drake Football Study received seed funding from the Drake Foundation located in London (United Kingdom) and financial support from FIFPRO located in Hoofddorp (the Netherlands), Mehiläinen NEO Hospital located in Turku (Finland), from Sports Hospital Mehiläinen located in Helsinki (Finland) and from Push Sports located in Maastricht (the Netherlands).
BACKGROUND
Transitioning out of professional football is a challenging time in most players’ lives. During these pre- and post-retirement years, professional footballers may struggle with their mental, musculoskeletal, neurocognitive and cardiovascular health. Currently, longitudinal data about these health conditions is lacking.
OBJECTIVES
The aims of the study are (i) to gather epidemiological evidence about the onset and course of mental, musculoskeletal, neurocognitive and cardiovascular health conditions in professional footballers during their pre- and post-retirement years, comparing them to matched controls from the non-elite sport population (if applicable), and (ii) to evaluate the associations between risk indicators and the onset and course of mental, musculoskeletal, neurocognitive and cardiovascular health conditions in professional footballers during their pre- and post-retirement years.
An observational prospective cohort study with repeated measurements over a follow-up period of 10 years is conducted among professional footballers (male). Mental health will be explored by assessing symptoms of distress, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, alcohol misuse, drug misuse and disordered eating. Musculoskeletal health will be explored by assessing severe joint injury and related surgery, clinical and radiological osteoarthritis, and joint function (hips, knees, ankles). Neurocognitive health will be explored by assessing concussion, brain structure and functioning, and neurocognitive functioning. Cardiovascular health will be explored by assessing blood pressure, lipid profile and electrocardiogram abnormalities.