Football doctor education programme to launch

UEFA is launching a programme in 2012 whereby expert football medical knowledge – a crucial factor in the game – will be available to UEFA's member national associations. The programme aims to set new standards through the dissemination of this specific knowledge throughout European football.

The course – the UEFA Football Doctor Education Programme – comes under the auspices of UEFA's Knowledge & Information Sharing Scenario (KISS). It is aimed at benefiting the entire continental game by facilitating, harmonising and spreading football medicine know-how across UEFA's member associations.

Applications for the first course have now closed, and a total of 49 doctors from each association have enrolled for the course – emphasising the huge interest in the scheme throughout Europe, as well as the real necessity for medical knowledge to be exchanged and transmitted among experts.

To assist in the wider sharing of knowledge, each of the participants from the European FAs will be provided with the skills and materials to host their own national workshops, so that the course can be replicated in every country with the support of the associations.

The programme offers a unique combination of education and instruction in all key areas of the role of the modern football doctor, including emergency treatment of players, injury prevention, treatment and rehabilitation, the roles and responsibilities of the football doctor and anti-doping.

Content has been developed in conjunction with the UEFA Medical Committee and sports medicine experts. Participants will be required to attend three workshops of three to four days duration over a period of three years (one per year) and will complete various online (elearning) modules.

The programme topics
• Roles and responsibilities of the doctor
Overview of the general skills and knowledge needed by the modern team doctor

• Emergency treatment of players
Instruction on advanced techniques for managing the treatment of serious and life-threatening on-field injury

• Injury prevention
Insight into the findings and practical outcomes of the UEFA injury study, one of the world's largest and longest-running sports injury studies

• Treatment and rehabilitation
Key factors contributing to effective treatment and rehabilitation of football injuries

• Anti-doping
Role of the team doctor in the anti-doping process, including testing, whereabouts and therapeutic use exemption procedures