Football
Project goals
The SoccHealth study is an additional project of the German National Cohort (NAKO) . The aim is to investigate football-specific effects on a broad spectrum of diseases including cardiovascular, metabolic, musculoskeletal and neurological disorders in former professional footballers.
From spring 2021, the ex-professionals aged between 40 and 69 took part in medical examinations and surveys on their health behaviour at the 18 NAKO study centres.222 professional footballers also received a full-body MRI examination. Since autumn 2023, the examinations of 52 women and 296 men have been completed.
This football part (SoccHealth) of the German National Cohort (NAKO) is funded by Deutscher Fußball-Bund (DFB, German Football Association), Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL, German Football League), Verwaltungsberufsgenossenschaft (VBG, Employer’s Liability Insurance Association) and Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and managed by Professor Dr. Klaus Berger (University of Münster) and Professor Dr. Tim Meyer (Saarland University).
First results
- The average age of male players is 54.5 years and 46.9 years for women.
- The most common playing position for male ex-professional players is defender, followed by midfielder, while the reverse is true for women.
- Both genders have a total of 32 years of football training and playing in amateur and professional leagues behind them. On average, men ended their professional career at the age of 33, compared to 34 for women.
Publications
Berger K, Baurecht H, Stein M, et al. SoccHealth: a health status examination of former professional football (soccer) players within the German National Cohort. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine 2024;10:e002228. doi:10.1136/bmjsem-2024-002228
Speakers
Prof Dr. Klaus Berger
Prof Dr. Tim Meyer