Sport-related concussion in soccer –a scoping review of available guidelines and a call for action to FIFA & soccer governing bodies

• Published in: Brain & spine Vol. 4; p. 102763
• Main Authors: Demetriades, Andreas K., Shah, Imran, Marklund, Niklas, Clusmann, Hans, Peul, Wilco
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01.01.2024; Elsevier
• Subjects: Concussion in Sport Group (CISG); Guidelines; Review; Soccer; Soccer professional associations; Sport-related concussion; Sport-related concussion; Soccer professional associations; Soccer; Concussion in Sport Group (CISG); Guidelines
• ISSN: 2772-5294; 2772-5294
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bas.2024.102763

Sport-related concussions (SRC) have been a concern in all sports, including soccer. The long-term effects of soccer-related head injuries are a public health concern. The Concussion in Sport Group (CISG) released a consensus statement in 2017 and several soccer governing associations have published their own SRC guidelines while referring to it but it is unclear whether this has been universally adopted. We aimed to investigate whether guidelines published by soccer associations have any discrepancies; and the extent to which they follow the CISG recommendations. A scoping review of available soccer-specific SRC guidelines was performed via databases PubMed, Google Scholar, and official soccer association websites via web browser Google. The inclusion criteria were soccer-specific SRC guidelines. Comparisons between guidelines were made concerning the following index items: initial (on-site) assessment, removal from play, re-evaluation with neuroimaging, return-to-sport protocol, special populations, and education. Nine soccer associations with available guidelines were included in this review. Guidelines obtained were from official associations in the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. When compared to each other and the CISG recommendations, discrepancies were found within guidelines regarding the index items. Additionally, major soccer associations in some countries famous for soccer were found to have not published any publicly available guidelines. SRC guidelines from different soccer associations contain discrepancies which may be detrimental to athletes, both short and long-term. We recommend that all major soccer governing associations publish guidelines that are standardised and accessible to all athletes. •Sport-related concussions (SRC) have been a concern in all sports, including soccer.•This scoping review identified discrepancies between soccer-specific SRC guidelines published by different official bodies.•The largest discrepancies were identified in the Graduated Return-To-Sport Protocol.•These discrepancies may be detrimental to the neurocognitive health of athletes.•We recommend that FIFA collaborate with all soccer governing bodies to jointly publish guidelines that are standardised.