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UEFA Medical Symposium: working together for the good of the game

Medical

Clubs and physiotherapists represented for the first time as experts convene to share knowledge on vital health, well-being and injury prevention topics.

2025 UEFA Medical Symposium

UEFA's ninth Medical Symposium brought together more than 500 medical professionals from all over Europe and beyond in Lugano, Switzerland, to present, discuss and debate some of the latest football-related scientific research and studies.

This was the ninth edition of the biennial UEFA Medical Symposium, which every two years brings together medical professionals from across European football to review and discuss some of the game's key medical-related issues.

We staged the 2025 event alongside the European Club Association (ECA), extending the invitation beyond UEFA's member national associations to clubs, European Leagues, and FIFPRO Europe for the first time.

Another first was the presence of physiotherapists at the symposium, an indispensable role in the day-to-day care of players.

"The symposium is designed to provide hands-on knowledge and top practical skills used in football today. It is not just about learning, it's about working together to make football safer and healthier for everyone who plays."

Aleksander Čeferin, UEFA president

"The ninth UEFA Medical Symposium fostered a true sense of community, bringing together, for the first time, experts from diverse fields of medicine and research. This allowed them to share invaluable exchanges to further improve player health and well-being. Hosting the event in Lugano was also a great opportunity to build momentum for the upcoming Women's EURO 2025 in Switzerland."

Zoran Bahtijarević, UEFA chief medical officer

What were 2025's key topics?

The symposium included a mix of plenary and parallel sessions with content designed to support the immediate needs of medical doctors and physiotherapists working within the game.

Each session offered practical information that participants can apply in their day-to-day work, with Q&A sessions and round-table events supplementing a range of expert speaker slots.

Across three activity-packed days, attendees heard from UEFA, national associations, club and academic experts on a wide range of topics, with a particular focus on women's football ahead of UEFA Women's EURO 2025 this summer.

Addressing mental health issues in the game

One of the vital issues facing both men's and women's football is mental health and how to support players as they encounter ever-more intense physical and psychological demands.

Between 20% and 35% of footballers report mental health problems during their career, so medical staff must find ways to screen, monitor and train psychological skills, providing support and solutions where required.

"Footballers are cumulatively exposed to stressors over the course of their careers that are likely to induce mental health symptoms and negatively impact their performance and quality of life."

Vincent Gouttebarge – FIFPRO medical director

Former Austria international Viktoria Schnaderbeck won domestic titles in Germany and England but struggled with her mental health after experiencing injury problems that led to eight surgeries.

"These periods taught me more than the championships, medals and trophies," explained the 34-year-old in Lugano. "As a player, you're expected to perform on the pitch but nobody really understands what's inside of you. It would have been easier if physios and doctors were asking me these questions and offering help because it's hard to ask."

UEFA via Getty Images

As Schnaderbeck discovered during her career, there are multiple ways to reduce stress, which can also optimise post-injury recovery. These can be as simple as sessions that involve mental imagery, deep breathing, yoga and muscle relaxation techniques, which can help to reduce anxiety and pain.

"Reducing the risk of injury and improving performance are the same fight. A lot of the time, stress management strategies will improve performance."

Dr Dale Forsdyke, senior lecturer in sports injury management, York St John University

Smoothing the handover process between club and country

With club representatives present for the first time, it was an opportunity for constructive conversation between national team and club doctors with regards to optimising the medical handover – the transition from club to national association and vice versa – of players on international duty.

While club and national teams share the same overall goal of keeping players fit and healthy, there are challenges they must overcome to achieve this. A lack of communication during handover can lead to mismanaged injuries, delayed recovery and increased risk of re-injury.

UEFA, in collaboration with the ECA, has created a medical task force which aims to establish a standardised and secure framework that will facilitate cooperation between clubs and national teams.

"Most problems come when there is no communication. That’s why we need a process that will oblige people to communicate – it is better to think and talk together," said Paris Saint-Germain's medical director, Hakim Chalabi.

"It starts with a consensus on what information we should exchange, and then there should be a proper transfer of information from one side to the other as soon as possible," agreed Royal Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) chief medical officer Edwin Goedhart.

Diederik Dewaele, ECA director of football

"It's a matter of creating a platform with contact details, and then taking a proactive approach and communicating openly, transparently and quickly. We are all on the same side and need to work towards something that is user-friendly and serves our needs."

Other important topics on the 2025 agenda included heading and concussion, emergency action plans, doping control and cardiac screening, with specific workshops on UEFA's Get Trained, Save Lives campaign, which in collaboration with the European Resuscitation Council, is teaching people across Europe to vital life-saving skills.

Diederik Dewaele, ECA director of football

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