The NWSL Players Association and the NWSL announced on Wednesday that they have joined Project ACL, an initiative focused on reducing anterior cruciate ligament injuries in women’s professional soccer.
The player-focused study will begin in June and last three years, after which the data will be studied to better understand how to reduce ACL injuries.
ACL injuries are twice as likely to occur in women than men, and roughly two-thirds of ACL injuries in women’s soccer occur without contact from another player, according to existing research.
“The NWSLPA is proud to join Project ACL, which brings together players, leagues and researchers to better understand ACL injuries,” Tori Huster, the NWSLPA’s deputy executive director and a former NWSL player, said in a statement. “That understanding requires looking beyond the individual and examining the conditions players train and compete in each day. Project ACL is an opportunity to build the kind of player-centric evidence that can lead to meaningful changes across women’s professional soccer.”
The study plans to track metrics like player workload and travel, and to understand how such factors intersect with player injuries. Data will be anonymized and shared internally throughout the study, according to organizers.
According to the organizers, only 8% of all sports research is conducted on women, and much of that focuses on amateur athletes.
Project ACL originally launched in England with the Women’s Super League. It is the first study of its kind across multiple professional leagues, according to organizers.
The NWSL and NWSLPA are working alongside Nike and Leeds Beckett University and global players’ union FIFPRO, which is “responsible for the overall guidance and leadership of the study,” according to a press release.
“We are incredibly excited to bring the NWSLPA and the NWSL to Project ACL, which now comprises two of the biggest leagues in women’s soccer,” Dr. Alex Culvin, FIFPRO’s director of women’s football, said in a news release.
“Overall, we believe that player-centricity and collaboration with key stakeholders are central to establishing meaningful change in the soccer ecosystem and that players, competition organizers and stakeholders around the world will benefit from Project ACL’s outputs and outcomes.”
