A SURVEY FOOTBALL INJURIES ACCORDING TO PLAYING POSITION AMONG ELITE FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Abstract: Football is one of the most popular and physically demanding sports in the world, and the risk of injury among players remains a major concern for sports scientists and coaches. The purpose of the present study was to conduct a survey to examine the prevalence of injuries among elite football players according to their playing positions. A total of 1000 elite football players aged between 14 and 30 years participated in the study. The participants were categorized into four age groups: 14–17 years, 18–21 years, 22–25 years, and 26–30 years. Data were collected using a self-developed football injury questionnaire adapted from Singh (2012). The study employed a descriptive retrospective research design, and the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as percentages with the help of SPSS software.

The findings of the study revealed that injuries were more prevalent among defenders (35.33%) followed by offenders/forwards (28.00%), midfielders (20.19%), and goalkeepers (16.33%). Similar patterns were observed across all age groups, where defenders and offenders experienced a higher percentage of injuries compared to midfielders and goalkeepers. The higher injury rates among defenders and offenders may be attributed to frequent physical contact, tackling, and high-intensity movements during match play. The study highlights the importance of position-specific training, injury prevention strategies, and proper conditioning programs to reduce the risk of injuries among football players.

Keywords: Football injuries, playing position, elite football players, injury prevalence, sports injury survey, injury risk factors