A Systematic Review of the Genetic Predisposition to Injury in Football

Purpose Synthesise genetic association studies investigating injury involving football players to identify which genetic variants have the most empirical evidence to date.Methods A comprehensive search of the PubMed,SPORTDiscus,and MEDLINE databases until March 11th 2022 identi-fied 34 studies.Inclusion criteria:primary investigations,included football players,examined the association of a genetic variant with injury,and were published in English.Risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale.A narrative synthesis summarised results.Results There were 33 candidate gene studies and one genome-wide study,with 9642 participants across all studies(range=43–1311;median=227).Ninety-nine polymorphisms were assessed within 63 genes.Forty-one polymorphisms were associated with injury once.Three polymorphisms had their specific allelic associations with injury replicated twice in independent cohorts:ACTN3(rs1815739)XX genotype was associated with an increased susceptibility to non-contact muscle injuries,ACAN(rs1516797)G allele was associated with increased susceptibility to anterior cruciate ligament(ACL)injuries,and VEGFA(rs2010963)CC genotype was associated with an increased susceptibility to ACL and ligament or tendon injuries.However,several methodological issues(e.g.,small sample sizes,cohort heterogeneity,and population stratification)are prevalent that limit the reliability and external validity of findings.Conclusion At present,the evidence base supporting the integration of genetic information as a prognostic or diagnosis tool for injury risk in football is weak.Future participation of organisations in international consortia is suggested to combat the current methodological issues and subsequently improve clarity concerning the underlying genetic contribution to injury susceptibility.

Speed of Thought and Speed of Feet:Examining Perceptual-Cognitive Expertise and Physical Performance in an English Football Academy

The world's greatest professional football players are able to execute effective tactical decisions as well as fulfil various physical demands.However,the degree to which both are associated with greater potential in a football academy is unknown.Therefore,the aim of this study was to investigate decision-making skill and physical performance as contributing factors to coach potential rankings in an English football academy.Ninety-eight outfield academy players(Foundation Development Phase[FDP]under-9 to under-11 n=40;Youth Development Phase[YDP]under-12 to under-16 n=58)participated in the study.They engaged in 45 film-based simulations at two occlusion phases(e.g.,the visual display is cut-off at a precise time during an action),firstly"during"and secondly"post"execution,to examine decision-making skill.Participants also completed four fitness tests to examine physical performance.A classification of"higher-potentials"(top third)and"lower-potentials"(bottom third)were applied through coach rankings.Independent t-tests compared the decision-making and physical performance tests.Higher-potentials made significantly more accurate decisions within the"post"phase within the FDP(P<0.05)and the"during"phase within the YDP(P<0.05).Additionally,higher-potentials were significantly faster for the 0-30 m sprint in both the FDP and YDP(P<0.05),with higher-potentials within the YDP also significantly faster in the 0-10 m sprint(P<0.05)and jumped significantly higher in the countermovement jump(P<0.05).These findings indicated that greater football potential may be associated with superior perceptual-cognitive expertise and quicker sprint ability in both academy age phases,with a greater discriminatory function within the older cohort.