FIFA Female Health Project: 7 Papers Every Practitioner in Women's Football Should Read
- Jo Clubb
- Oct 1
- 6 min read
Women’s football is growing fast, but the evidence base has not always kept pace. To support female players’ health, performance, and wellbeing, we need not just more research, but also higher quality research that we can then translate into day-to-day practice.
That is the goal of FIFA’s Female Health Project in collaboration with Sports Medicine. This special collection brings together seven open-access papers that connect science with the applied realities of the women’s game. Below, I summarise each paper and highlight what it means for practitioners.
📚 Collection homepage: FIFA Female Health Project in Sports Medicine🔗 https://link.springer.com/collections/ffcdffcfcb
1) Growth to Greatness: Professionalisation, Health and Performance
Scott, D., Lovell, R. & Wilson, B. From Growth to Greatness: A Leading Article on the Professionalisation, Health and Performance Challenges in Women’s Football. Sports Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02266-7
What the paper covers
The authors outline how rapid professionalisation has increased match schedules, travel, training frequency, and public exposure. They highlight a tension in the women’s game: elite competitions have expanded quickly, yet sport science, medical, recovery, and welfare systems have not always scaled at the same rate.
The article calls for stronger collaboration between researchers, practitioners, and governing bodies so that evidence consistently informs policy and practice. It sets the scene for this special issue and the other articles that follow.
Why it matters for practice
Audit your current performance and medical support against the actual demands of the schedule.
Build capacity around recovery, sleep, travel logistics, and staff education, not just on-pitch load.
Align monitoring and reporting with decision-making processes so insights drive action.
2) Benchmarking Physical Performance in Women’s Football
Compton, H.R., Lovell, R., Scott, D. et al. Benchmarking the Physical Performance Qualities in Women’s Football: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Across the Performance Scale. Sports Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02251-0
What the paper covers
You may have already come across this paper on my blog in this post from when the paper was first published. Our systematic review and meta-analysis synthesised data from 288 studies and almost 19,000 players to produce female-specific benchmarks across seven physical qualities: cardiorespiratory fitness, acceleration, sprint, change of direction, maximal velocity, strength, and power.
Across tiers of participation, sprinting ability, lower-limb power, and intermittent aerobic capacity most consistently differentiated performance levels. To dive deeper into the findings, take a look at my summary.
To turn evidence into action, we built an interactive Shiny dashboard where practitioners can explore the data and compare squads or individuals against tier-specific norms.
Why it matters for practice
Profile your athletes against female-specific benchmarks to prioritise development.
Emphasise acceleration, top-end speed, intermittent fitness, and lower-limb power in football programmes.
Use the dashboard to contextualise test scores for selection, progression, and communication.
📊 Physical Capacities Dashboard: https://fifawomensdevelopmentprogramme.shinyapps.io/FIFA_Womens_Profiling/
3) Pregnancy and Football: Playing During Pregnancy
Hassan, A., Dufour, S., Brockwell, E. et al. Pregnant Pitches: Navigating Football Before and During Pregnancy. Sports Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02249-8
What the paper covers
This review challenges the default assumption that pregnancy should automatically end participation. With appropriate medical oversight and individualised adaptations, many athletes can safely continue training and, to some extent, competing. The paper summarises safety considerations and provides clear guidance on needs, nice-to-haves, and practices to avoid.
Why it matters for practice
Establish a supportive, non-stigmatising environment with clear clinical pathways.
Individualise modifications for training content, intensity, and contact exposure.
Create written guidance that athletes, coaches, and families can reference.
4) Return to Play Post-Pregnancy
Hassan, A., Brockwell, E., Dufour, S. et al. Kicking Off Motherhood: Considering Return to Play Postpartum in the Footballer. Sports Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02248-9
What the paper covers
The authors describe physiological, musculoskeletal, and psychosocial changes in the postpartum period, including pelvic floor recovery, ligamentous laxity, body composition, identity, and support networks. They advocate a continuum-based, individualised return rather than rigid timelines.
Why it matters for practice
Build a multidisciplinary pathway that progresses criteria-based, not time-based.
Screen pelvic floor function and address strength, power, and impact tolerance stepwise.
Provide psychological support and flexible scheduling that respects family demands.
5) Physical and Mental Recovery in Female Footballers
Howatson, G., Russell, S., Pedlar, C. et al. Physical and Mental Recovery for Female Footballers: Considerations and Approaches for Better Practice. Sports Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02246-x
What the paper covers
A comprehensive overview of recovery that treats the athlete as a whole person. Foundational strategies such as sleep, nutrition, hydration, and mental recovery sit at the base, with higher-order modalities layered on top. The article emphasises the mental load of elite football, which may be amplified in the women's game by media exposure and dual careers.
Why it matters for practice
Protect sleep with scheduling hygiene after late matches and travel.
Integrate psychological detachment and mental skills into recovery planning.
Build a tiered recovery system that prioritises the big rocks before the add-ons.
6) Uncovering Sleep Behaviours in Women’s Football
Halson, S.L., Bender, A., Howatson, G. et al. Uncovering Sleep Behaviour in Women’s Football: What Evidence Do We Have?. Sports Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02247-w
What the paper covers
The review examines football-specific, female-specific, and individual factors that shape sleep. Many athletes report poorer sleep quality in the luteal phase, although individual responses vary. Competition timings, travel, and early training complicate sleep schedules, and most existing sleep research is still derived from male cohorts.
Why it matters for practice
Monitor sleep and educate around behaviours, caffeine timing, light exposure, and naps.
Consider cycle-informed strategies while respecting individual variability.
Adjust logistics where possible after late kick-offs and long-haul travel.
7) The WOMEN Framework: A Roadmap for Better Research and Practice
Lovell, R., Okholm Kryger, K. Back to the Future—Past Learnings for Prospective Performance, Medicine and Health Research Recommendations in WOMEN’s Football. Sports Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02250-1
What the paper covers
The authors propose the WOMEN framework to guide the next phase of progress: Worldwide representation, Open science, Methodology excellence, Evidence-based practice, and Nurturing talent.
It addresses historical under-representation and variable methodological quality by calling for global collaboration, transparent data, rigorous designs, and a stronger pipeline of female researchers and practitioners.
Why it matters for practice
Women's football needs higher quality research, not just more quantity.
Advocate for inclusive sampling and transparent reporting in projects you support.
Partner with researchers to co-design applied questions and share de-identified data.
Build a culture that develops both athletes and the next generation of practitioners.
Key Takeaways for Practitioners
Context is everything. Use female-specific benchmarks to interpret testing data and prioritise development.
Recovery is holistic. Protect sleep and mental recovery, then add higher-order modalities.
Support life phases. Provide clear, individualised pathways for playing during pregnancy and returning postpartum.
Raise the bar. Champion better methods, open science, and global representation so practice is anchored in robust evidence.
Final Thoughts
This collection is a comprehensive, practical resource for anyone working in women’s football. It spans professionalisation, physical benchmarks, pregnancy and postpartum, recovery, sleep, and a roadmap for better science and practice.
While this article provides a summary, there is much more detail in the full papers. I encourage you to read the open-access texts, as well as exploring our benchmarking dashboard, to apply the evidence in your own environment.
FAQs
What is the FIFA Female Health Project?
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is committed to optimising the health, well-being, and performance of every female footballer, while advancing understanding of the women’s game at all levels. Through the Female Health Project, FIFA is embedding this evidence into tailored education, practical application, and capacity-building support for Member Associations worldwide.
These projects connect research to real-world performance environments, ensuring that knowledge is not only generated but also implemented effectively across diverse contexts. This collection of articles in a unique FIFA supplementary edition of Sports Medicine represents a key part of that ongoing effort, linking cutting-edge research with the applied strategies that prepare female players and teams to perform at their best.
Where can I read the papers?
All seven articles are open access in Sports Medicine here.
How should I use the benchmarking dashboard?
Select the relevant physical quality, identify your athletes’ tier, and compare individual or squad results to normative values to guide profiling, programming, and communication.
Are pregnancy and postpartum pathways standardised?
No. The two reviews provide clear principles but (much like returning from injury) pathways should be individualised with multidisciplinary input.
How do I balance recovery with congested schedules?
Protect the foundations first. Optimise sleep opportunity after late kick-offs and travel, fuel and hydrate well, and schedule mental downtime. Use additional modalities strategically.
What can clubs do to support better research?
Co-design applied questions, share de-identified data, report context consistently, and partner on long-term projects that track development over time.
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