Sudáfrica 2010 - FIFA.com

teams from the day of their arrival. Dr Astrid Junge, Head
of Research at F-MARC, analysed the data submitted daily
by the team physicians. Thanks to intense communication
with the team physicians, a response rate of 96% was
achieved. Overall, the results demonstrated the success of
FIFA’s and F-MARC’s preventive efforts: the overall injury
rate of 1.9 injuries per match was the lowest observed
at a men’s World Cup since 1998, when injury recording
started.
The vast majority of injuries were of minor to moderate
severity, with no-time-loss injuries accounting for 31%,
and almost half of the injuries (46%) causing an absence
from play of only 1-3 days. This means that not only the
frequency, but also the severity of injuries was considerably
lower than in previous years (see fi gure 2). Severe injuries
with time loss of more than four weeks have been
remarkably reduced.
Another important and positive observation was made
with regard to the causes of injuries. Foul play as a cause
of injury was reduced by more than half as compared to
the previous two World Cups, while non-contact injuries
increased. There are several possible explanations for this
observation, including a generally higher appreciation of fair
play by players, stricter implementation of the Laws of the
3
2
1
0
2.4
1998
2.7
2002
1.7
2.3
2006
1.5
1.9
2010
Fig. 1 Injuries at the FIFA World Cup from 1998 to 2010 (red = total injuries
per match; orange = injuries with absence from training or matches)
1.3
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa
Game, changes in playing style and better preparation for
the competition.
137
Out-of-competition doping control
All teams participating in the 2010 FIFA World Cup had to
submit their whereabouts for the two months prior to the
start of the competition and were subject to no-advancenotice
controls at their respective location during this
period. Following FIFA’s plan for out-of-competition controls
within the pre-competition testing pool 2010, eight players
were drawn by lots and had to provide urine and/or
blood samples. All of the 256 samples tested negative for
prohibited substances.
In-competition doping control
Following the routine in-competition procedure as
described in the FIFA Anti-Doping Regulations 2010,
two players per team were randomly selected for doping
control after each of the 64 matches to provide urine
and/or blood samples. Altogether, 256 samples were
collected and analysed at the WADA-accredited laboratory
2002 2006 2010
No absence 33% 30% 31%
1-3 days 37% 33% 46%
4-7 days 17% 15% 8%
8-28 days 11% 18% 3%
> 28 days 2% 5% 1%
Fig. 2 Injury severity at the FIFA World Cup from 2002 to 2010
2002 2006 2010
No contact 27% 27% 37%
Contact, no foul 37% 33% 46%
Foul play 17% 15% 8%
Fig. 3 Injury mechanisms at the FIFA World Cup between 2002 and 2010