Fifa Injury Quotes

Not only are they long-lasting injuries, but there are long-term effects of playing on turf,” Alex Morgan once explained. “The achiness, taking longer to recover than on natural grass, the tendons and ligaments are, for me at least, I feel more sore after turf. It takes longer to recover from a turf field than natural grass.” For this reason, some players with leverage have refused to play on artificial turf. When superstars Thierry Henry and Didier Drogba joined MLS clubs after careers in Europe, where artificial turf is rare, they refused to play at venues without natural grass. Grass also offers a better quality of ball movement and natural bounces, while artificial turf can negatively affect the flow of the game. In other words, soccer is meant to be played on grass, and that’s especially true during a World Cup, the most important tournament in the sport. When Canada’s bid, which included artificial turf fields, was selected by FIFA for the 2015 World Cup, the decision flew under the radar at first.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t warm up at all. One of the most studied warm-up routines in the world is FIFA’s “11+” routine—which consists of isometric holds, agility drills, balance training, and game-play simulations. Studies of female soccer players have demonstrated that this type of warm-up reduces injury rates by around 30%.193 Passive stretching is conspicuously vacant from the 11+ warm-up.