FA and WSL Football announce research into ACL injuries

05/11/2026

Landmark research project begins to better understand the injury in Women's Football

The Football Association and WSL Football have announced a major new research project, in collaboration with Imperial College London and Sports Knee Surgeon Simon Ball, to better understand why anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries occur in women's football and generate practical insights that could help reduce the incidence of these injuries in the future.

Sponsored by The FA, the PhD research will be carried out by Hanna Lehtovirta at Imperial College London, working closely with The FA and WSL Football.

ACL injuries are among the most serious injuries in women’s football, often sidelining players for many months and affecting careers, clubs and team performance. As the women's game continues to grow, understanding why these injuries occur – and how they can be prevented – has become one of the sport's most important research priorities.

While previous research has identified a range of factors that may influence ACL injury risk – including anatomical, hormonal, neuromuscular, biomechanical and environmental factors – many studies have examined these in isolation or within laboratory settings. Less is known about how these factors interact in the day-to-day realities of elite women's football.

This new study will go beyond the existing research by combining scientific data with lived experiences of players and staff working in the professional game. By bringing together multiple and diverse perspectives, the research will build a more complete understanding of ACL injuries in the women’s game and help inform future injury prevention strategies.

Every club in the Barclays WSL and WSL2 will be invited to take part, with players and staff from medical, performance and coaching teams all contributing to what will become one of the most comprehensive studies of ACL injuries in women’s football.

The study will comprise two key research phases. The first will collect data via player surveys, completed by both players who have experienced an ACL injury and those who have not. The survey will collect information on injury history, training and match load, as well as capturing hormonal, nutritional and psychological factors. For players who have sustained an ACL injury since the 2018/19 season, their data will be compared with those of uninjured players to help identify factors that may be associated with ACL injury risk.

The second phase will build upon the survey data, with information gathered through interviews with the same players, as well as bringing staff into the study group to offer a different perspective. These interviews will capture individual perceptions on ACL injuries as well as offer further context around current approaches to training and injury prevention.

By combining large-scale data with the lived experiences of players and practitioners, the research aims to provide the most complete picture yet of ACL injuries in elite women's football, helping shape future approaches to injury prevention, rehabilitation and player welfare.

“We

are

proud

to

be

partnering

with

Imperial

College

London,

WSL

Football

and

Simon

Ball

from

the

Fortius

Clinic

on

this

important

research

project.

By

working

collaboratively,

we

can

bring

together

expertise,

data

and

lived

experiences

to

deliver

one

of

the

most

comprehensive

studies

into

ACL

injuries

in

the

women’s

game.

“ACL

injuries

remain

one

of

the

biggest

challenges

facing

female

footballers.

While

significant

progress

has

been

made

in

understanding

the

factors

that

may

contribute

to

these

injuries,

there

is

still

much

more

to

learn.

We

hope

that

this

research

will

help

shape

future

approaches

to

injury

prevention

and

rehabilitation,

and

help

more

players

to

stay

healthy

and

perform

at

their

best.”

Ritan Mehta, Head of Women’s Medical at The FA

“What

makes

this

project

particularly

exciting

is

the

partnership

between

football,

healthcare

and

academia.

The

insights

generated

have

the

potential

to

strengthen

ACL

injury

prevention

strategies,

inform

medical

standards

across

the

women's

game,

and

ultimately

create

safer,

healthier

environments

for

current

and

future

generations

of

players.”

Dr Abosede Ajayi, Medical Governance Lead at WSL Football

“ACL

injury

is

devastating

for

professional

athletes.

Whilst

we

have

made

huge

progress

in

the

management

of

ACL

injury

there

is

no

doubt

that

prevention

is

better

than

cure!

There

is

still

a

lot

to

learn,

and

we

owe

it

not

only

to

the

current

generation

of

players,

but

to

all

future

female

footballers

to

deepen

our

knowledge

and

understanding

with

the

aim

of

reducing

the

incidence

to

as

low

as

possible.”

Mr Simon Ball, Sports Knee Surgeon at Fortius Clinic

“Working

with

The

FA

and

WSL

Football

gives

us

a

valuable

opportunity

to

study

ACL

injuries

with

elite

players

in

their

real-world

context,

looking

at

a

wide

range

of

potential

risk

factors

–

from

minutes

played

and

injury

prevention

practices

at

clubs

to

how

players

developed

before

they

entered

professional

football.

By

bringing

together

different

types

of

data

and

a

diverse

range

of

perspectives,

we

can

build

a

better

understanding

of

the

factors

that

may

contribute

to

ACL

injury

risk

and

generate

findings

that

can

help

inform

practical

approaches

to

tackling

an

issue

that

impacts

so

many

people

in

the

sport.”

Hanna Lehtovirta, Research Postgraduate in Imperial’s Department of Mechanical Engineering