A European initiative protecting young footballers by raising awareness, improving prevention and enhancing the management of knee injuries, especially those involving the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
The ACL-PREVENT project, formally titled "ACL-Prevent – Development of a European football knee injury awareness, prevention, and management model for youth," is an Erasmus+ Sport-funded initiative that aims to address the significant gap in awareness, implementation, and compliance with evidence-based anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury prevention programs in youth football.
Football is the most popular sport in Europe and engages millions of young players. With this in mind, the project highlights the high risk of knee injuries (e.g., one ACL injury per season in women's youth teams), which can lead to long-term health issues, reduced participation, and hindered development. The programme builds on the UEFA Football Doctor Education Program (FDEP) and seeks to create a harmonised, innovative European model (Practical Intervention Methodology, or PIM) that empowers stakeholders, including youth players (aged 8–12), parents, coaches and medical staff, through education, resources and knowledge dissemination.
The 36-month project, coordinated by the Faculty of Human Kinetics at the University of Lisbon (FMH-UL), involves four universities and four national football associations from Portugal, England, Slovenia, and Belgium; in addition, UEFA is an associated partner for pan-European scalability across 55 member associations. The overarching objectives include a reduction in injury rates by up to 50% through digital tools (MOOCs, toolkits), campaigns, and events, while promoting inclusivity, digital transformation, and alignment with EU priorities such as the European Week of Sport.
Funding acknowledgement (mandatory on all pages): Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
The project develops and disseminates an evidence-based European model for the prevention, awareness and management of ACL and knee injuries in youth football, empowering players, parents, coaches and medical staff through digital tools, educational resources and training programmes.
Built on UEFA's Football Doctor Education Programme (FDEP), it promotes inclusivity, digital transformation and alignment with EU priorities such as the European Week of Sport.
From foundational management to widespread impact, each work package builds on the last to deliver measurable outcomes in youth football safety.
Overall coordination, financial management and quality assurance, plus an impact framework that monitors how prevention translates into real health benefits for young athletes. Led by FMH-UL.
Scoping reviews with quality assessment, a consensus statement, citizen engagement, an integrated platform and a cohesive set of resources: toolkits, videos and open educational resources.
Pilots with coaches, medical staff, youth and parents refine the model through hands-on trials, feedback loops, social-media campaigns, a community of practice and cascading education.
Proactive dissemination, project branding, five multiplier sport events, scientific publications and a sustainability plan, securing UEFA integrations and long-term rollout.
The project's four work packages form a cohesive framework that progresses from foundational management to widespread impact, ensuring efficient execution and measurable outcomes in youth football safety.
The overarching coordination and evaluation function is the primary responsibility of Work Package (WP) 1. This element of the project serves the role of its "backbone" by overseeing administrative tasks such as financial supervision and quality assurance. In addition, WP1 assesses the long-term impact of the project through frameworks that monitor the translation of prevention efforts into tangible health benefits for young athletes.
The focal point of WP2 is the generation and synthesis of knowledge, which constitutes the intellectual core, serving as a foundation for research, including systematic reviews, that informs the creation of practical resources. The objective is to establish a cohesive set of tools that facilitate the integration of scientific evidence with everyday applications in training environments.
As indicated by WP3, emphasis is placed on the testing and refinement of the model. This phase serves as the validation stage, during which pilots with target groups refine the model through hands-on trials, feedback loops, and community-building activities. These activities are designed to prepare for broader adoption and ensure that the resources are effective and user-friendly.
Regarding WP4, it serves to enhance visibility and ensure the model's longevity and sustainability. It functions as the outreach engine by disseminating results through digital platforms, events, and strategies that not only raise immediate awareness but also secure ongoing partnerships (e.g. UEFA integrations), sustaining the model's influence beyond the project's end.
The PIM is a harmonised, evidence-based European model for preventing, raising awareness of and managing ACL/knee injury in youth football. Developed through systematic reviews, expert consensus, and real-world piloting, the PIM translates the best scientific evidence into simple, practical tools for coaches, parents, medical staff, and young players to use every week.
All resources will be piloted with real users in Portugal, England, Slovenia and Belgium before being scaled across UEFA's 55 member associations.
The complete harmonised European model.
Injury-prevention exercise programmes for weekly use.
Short, practical guidance for coaches and parents.
Free Massive Open Online training modules.
Downloadable guides and posters.
On knee-injury prevention in youth football.
Whether you're a coach, parent, player, medical professional or football enthusiast, there's a role for you in ACL-PREVENT. Together we can build a safer game for the next generation.
ACL-PREVENT unites leading universities and national football associations across Europe, coordinated by the Faculty of Human Kinetics, University of Lisbon.
