The Asian Football Confederation’s (AFC) Medical Committee has agreed at its meeting to commission its first-ever injury study on Women’s Football which will focus on epidemiology and injury analysis based on data available from its women’s competitions.
While still in the conceptualisation phase, members agreed to conduct the study with its long-standing and world-renowned medical partners Aspetar, who were instrumental in the success of the AFC Champions League Injury and Illness Epidemiology report.
AFC Medical Committee Chairman Dato’ Dr Gurcharan Singh, who led the discussion said: “The AFC continues to take on a pioneering role in medical practices. Our milestone and progressive studies have made an enormous impact on our teams, players and it is, therefore, essential to expand the scope and areas of research to benefit as many players and officials as possible.
“The AFC Vision and Mission has made clear our aims to ensure the success of Asian football and sports medicine plays an essential role in delivering those outcomes.”
Reinforcing its commitment to knowledge capacity building, the Committee also agreed to commence a surveillance study to determine the extent of dietary supplements and medication usage among AFC Referees and its impact on performance at the elite level.
The Committee approved two new medical centres namely the Bangkok Hospital and Centre for Sports Science, Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute as AFC Medical Centres of Excellence to further strengthen its commitment to protect and promote the health and wellbeing of players on the Continent.
Members also deliberated on the nominees for the second AFC Medical Awards 2019, which will be held in conjunction with the highly-anticipated AFC Medical Conference in Chengdu, China in March next year.