UEFA at the forefront of menstrual cycle research
Wednesday, January 29, 2025
Article summary
As football medicine in the women's game continues to evolve, we remain at the forefront of research into the menstrual cycle and its impact on athlete well-being and performance.
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The menstrual cycle isn’t only a topic that remains taboo in sport but also a significant barrier to participation. According to research from UEFA partner adidas, 65% of those who menstruate say that period 'leaking' is their number one concern when playing sport.
Addressing challenges such as these is central to Unstoppable, our women's football strategy. A key pillar of the strategy is keeping players at the centre of the game's DNA and ensuring their welfare is at the heart of UEFA decision-making.
We aim to take a lead on health and performance research, awareness and education with regard to female athletes, helping to raise standards across the women's game.
Following studies into the health of female players, menstrual health was included in the UEFA's Women's Football Competence Framework, which improves the standard of coaching in the women's game.
Despite increased knowledge of the topic, there is still inconsistent tracking and utilisation of data on menstrual health in women's football, which we are addressing in several ways.
UEFA funded menstrual cycle research
In 2021, we set up a women's health expert panel comprising football doctors and sports scientists.
The panel meets up regularly to identify key areas warranting further investigation. One glaring gap that emerged from these discussions was the inconsistent utilisation of menstrual tracking and data on menstrual health.
To address these inconsistencies, UEFA allocated €20,000 to research on this topic for the 2023/24 season and another €20,000 for the current season, with the aim of obtaining a consensus on tracking menstruation in football.
Menstrual cycle awareness workshop
To increase awareness around the menstrual cycle within UEFA HQ, a workshop for staff was hosted by adidas in collaboration with the Well HQ on 21 January.
The workshop was an extension of an online module, 'It's Time to Talk. Period: Advancing Menstrual Awareness in Sports', from the adidas Breaking Barriers Academy.
This course covers essential topics such as understanding the menstrual cycle, learning how to track your cycle, breaking biases, creating safer sports environments and examining how different sports and cultures tackle menstruation.
The workshop also included information on what UEFA are doing around menstrual health and how employees can support or get involved.
UEFA Medical Symposium
To underline our commitment to driving change in the health and well-being of female footballers, the upcoming UEFA Medical Symposium will focus on the women's game.
The ninth edition will take place in Lugano, Switzerland, from 4 to 6 February 2025. The programme will cover recent advances that underline the vital role of football medicine in protecting female players' health.
Building on previous sessions at the UEFA Medical Symposium, the latest research around the menstrual health and its impact on athlete performance will be discussed.
For the first time, we have invited anyone interested in the health and well-being of footballers to attend the symposium.