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Completed

NCT Number: NCT06846008

The Effectiveness of a Coach-Focused Intervention on Preventing Knee Injuries in Amateur Football Players

The goal of this clinical trial is to find out if a coach-focused intervention can help prevent sudden-onset, severe knee injuries in youth and senior amateur football players. The main question it aims to answer is:

Does a coach-focused intervention reduce the number of sudden-onset, severe knee injuries? Researchers will compare a coach-focused intervention, designed to help coaches to use effective injury prevention training, to usual football practice to see if the intervention can prevent sudden-onset, severe knee injuries in football players.

Participants will:

Either receive weekly information and motivation on effective injury prevention training or continue their usual football practice for 14 weeks.

All will receive a weekly text message with a survey link to report any sudden-onset knee injuries among their players for 18 weeks.

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Key information

Conditions

Knee Injuries Leg Injuries Wounds and Injuries

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

The Parker Institute

Frederiksberg, 2000, Denmark

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Coach or manager at Danish amateur football teams at levels from under 14 (U14) years to senior teams.
  • Minimum 18 years of age.
  • Access to a mobile phone and computer.

Exclusion criteria

  • Limited Danish language skills, which prevents full understanding of the provided material and questionnaires.
  • Affiliation to teams playing under a license ranking by the Danish Football Association where training by a physical trainer is required according to the license criteria of the Danish Football Association).
  • Affiliation solely with old boys'/girls' teams (where the players have to be aged 32 and 29 , respectively, in the current season ).

Treatment and study plan

Ahead of the Game

Behavioral

Evidence-based injury prevention training programs and exercises will be send weekly to participants in the intervention arm.

Additionally, participants in the intervention arm will be encouraged to access a study specific online platform containing information, inspiration, pep-talks and posters on injury prevention training.

Usual practice

Other

Usual training

Primary outcomes

  1. The incidence of acute severe knee injuries in players.

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in incidence of acute severe knee injuries (>28 time-loss days from training and matches) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group compared with players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Incidence of acute knee injuries

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in incidence of all acute knee injuries (from minimal (1-3 days lost) to severe (>28 time-loss days from training or match)) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group versus players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

  2. Incidence of acute minimal knee injuries

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in incidence of acute minimal knee injuries (1-3 time-loss days from training or match) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group versus players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

  3. Incidence of acute mild knee injuries

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in incidence of acute mild knee injuries (4-7 time-loss days from training or match) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group versus players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

  4. Incidence of acute moderate knee injuries

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in incidence of acute moderate knee injuries (8-28 time-loss days from training or match) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group versus players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

  5. Time-loss days of acute knee injuries

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in burden of all acute knee injuries (the total number of time loss days from minimal (1-3 time-loss days) to severe (>28 time-loss days from training or match) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group versus players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

  6. Time-loss days of acute minimal knee injuries

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in burden of acute minimal knee injuries (1-3 time-loss days from training or match) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group versus players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

  7. Time-loss days of acute mild knee injuries

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in burden of acute mild knee injuries (4-7 time-loss days from training or match) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group versus players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

  8. Time-loss days of acute moderate knee injuries

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in burden of acute moderate knee injuries (8-28 time-loss days from training or match) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group versus players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

  9. Time-loss days of acute severe knee injuries

    Time frame: From baseline to end of the intervention, 14 weeks after baseline.

    The difference in burden of acute and severe knee injuries (> 28 time-loss days from training or matches) per 1000 hours of player exposure in players belonging to coaches in the intervention group versus players belonging to coaches in the control group (usual practice) throughout the intervention period.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Marius Henriksen

Other

Collaborators

  • University of Copenhagen

Registry information

Official study title

The Effectiveness of a Coach-Focused Intervention on Preventing Acute Severe Knee Injuries in Amateur Football Players: A Cluster Randomized Superiority Trial

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2025
Study completion
2025
First posted
Feb 25, 2025
Registry last updated
Aug 12, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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