OOIR: Observatory of International Research

Papers

(The median citation count of Science and Medicine in Football is 2. The table below lists those papers that are above that threshold based on CrossRef citation counts [max. 250 papers]. The publications cover those that have been published in the past four years, i.e., from 2021-04-01 to 2025-04-01.)

Article	Citations
A special issue only for one virus: has the football research community responded well to the pandemic?	45
The effect of knee-flexion angle on peak force and muscle activation during isometric knee-flexor strength testing using the Nordbord device in soccer players	44
Reliability of spatial-temporal metrics used to assess collective behaviours in football: an in-silico experiment	40
Re: A contemporary multi-modal mechanical approach to training monitoring in elite professional soccer: a statistical problem?	37
Single leg drop jump is affected by physical capacities in male soccer players following ACL reconstruction	35
Mortality of Spanish soccer referees and coaches: a retrospective cohort study	33
Relative age and biological maturity-related selection biases in male youth soccer across different competitive levels within a national association	30
Sport-related concussion knowledge and attitudes of staff working in English elite women’s football: a survey-based study	23
Acute locomotor, heart rate and neuromuscular responses to added wearable resistance during soccer-specific training	23
The introduction of the six-again rule has increased acceleration intensity across all positions in the National Rugby League competition	22
Decrease in aerial challenges after revision of goal kick rules in Japan Professional Soccer League: explorative study of the possibility of a risk reduction for head injury, concussion, and brain dam	22
Examining the mental health status of referees in the turkish professional football league	20
Time to change direction in training load monitoring in elite football? The application of MEMS accelerometers for the evaluation of movement requirements	16
What contextual factors influence pain management decision making concerning player availability in professional men’s football? A qualitative analysis of practitioner perceptions	14
Determining age-specific velocity thresholds for elite youth female soccer players	14
Video analysis of anterior cruciate ligament injury situations in the women’s Australian football league	14
Strength effects of the Copenhagen adduction exercise vs an adductor squeeze exercise in male football players – A randomized controlled trial	14
A mechanical comparison of the translational traction of female-specific and male soccer boots	14
A commentary on soccer match-play simulations for applied research and practice	13
Individually randomized trial mislabeled as a cluster-randomized trial. Comment on: “Effectiveness of wearable technology to optimize youth soccer players’ off-training behaviour and training response	13
The effect of bio-banding on technical and tactical indicators of talent identification in academy soccer players	13
The effect of team formation on match running performance in UEFA Champions League matches: implications for position-specific conditioning	13
Identification of potential risk factors for lower limb injuries in female team-sport athletes: a prospective cohort study	13
Exploring decision-making practices during coaching sessions in grassroots youth soccer: a mixed-methods study	12
Individual and situational factors affecting the movement characteristics and internal responses to Touch match-play during an international tournament	12

Developmental activities of professional male British rugby-league players versus controls	12
The keys of pressing to gain the ball – Characteristics of defensive pressure in elite soccer using tracking data	12
Analysing the impact of the 50:22 kick law changes in South African rugby tournaments between 2021 and 2022	11
Heading in Football: insights from stakeholders in amateur football	11
Evolution of passing network in the Soccer World Cups 2010–2022	11
Menstrual cycle performance barriers experienced by elite women football players and their management strategies applied: A semi-structured interview-based study	11
Perspectives of the barriers and enablers to nutritional adherence in professional male academy football players	11
Knowledge, attitude and behaviour around concussion at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: part 2 – coaches, performance staff and players	11
No independent or synergistic effects of carbohydrate-caffeine mouth rinse on repeated sprint performance during simulated soccer match play in male recreational soccer players	10
Dealing with small samples in football research	10
Sport-related concussion return-to-play practices of medical team staff in elite football in the United Kingdom	10
Research on women’s futsal: a scoping review	10
Characteristics of potential head injury situations at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 ^TM	10
Change of direction frequency off the ball: new perspectives in elite youth soccer	9
Perceiving, reporting and managing an injury – perspectives from national team football players, coaches, and health professionals	9
Effect of ball inclusion on jump performance in soccer players: a biomechanical approach	9
Oral contraceptive use in Premiership and Championship women’s rugby union: perceived symptomology, management strategies, and performance and wellness effects	9
A formative investigation assessing menstrual health literacy in professional women’s football	9
Linear advancing actions followed by deceleration and turn are the most common movements preceding goals in male professional soccer	9
Incidence of concussion and associated risk factors in collegiate soccer: findings from the NCAA-DoD CARE consortium	9
Isokinetic hamstring and quadriceps strength interpretation guideline for football (soccer) players with ACL reconstruction: a Delphi consensus study in the Netherlands	9
Fundamental movement skills and perceived competence, but not fitness, are the key factors associated with technical skill performance in boys who play grassroots soccer	9
Quantifying change of direction load using positional data from small-sided games in soccer	8
Assessing the association between on-field heading technique and head impact kinematics in a cohort of female youth soccer players	8
Is there a relationship between lower-extremity injuries and foot postures in professional football players? A prospective cohort study	8
Survey of the current practices of German football academies towards biological maturation assessment	7
Are there differences in the attention of elite football players concerning playing positions?	7
Assessing the usefulness of submaximal exercise heart rates for monitoring cardiorespiratory fitness changes in elite youth soccer players	7
The incidence and characteristics of heading in the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup™	6
Exploring the impact of athletic identity on gender role conflict and athlete injury fear avoidance in male English professional academy football players	6
Competitive level differences in the activity profile of elite Gaelic football referees	6
Analysis of potential hydration opportunities during future football tournaments based on data from the 2018 FIFA World Cup	6
Monitoring of sprint and change of direction velocity, vertical jump height, and repeated sprint ability in sub-elite female football players throughout their menstrual cycle	6
Effect of support foot placement on football instep kick performance	6
Early identification of the opposition shot taker characterises elite goalkeepers’ ability to read the game	6
Time-loss injuries and illnesses at the FIFA world cup Qatar 2022	6
Low sleep quality and morningness-eveningness scale score may impair ball placement but not kicking velocity in youth academy soccer players	6
Preseason multiple biomechanics testing and dimension reduction for injury risk surveillance in elite female soccer athletes: short-communication	6
The impact of simulated soccer match-play on hip and hamstring strength in academy soccer players	6
Effects of concussion on technical performance in professional Australian football	6
Seasonal health tracking of Australian Football League Women’s athletes	6
Energy availability and macronutrient intake in elite male Gaelic football players	5
Development of novel calibration model(s) to predict whole-body density in professional football players	5
A prospective epidemiologic study of injuries and illnesses in the football matches of the 14th National Student Games of China	5
Discriminative validity of summarized hip and knee angular accelerations for lower extremity training load quantification in male soccer players during a standardised training drill	5
Comment on: influence of the time-task constraint on ocular metrics of semi-elite soccer	5
Heading and risk of injury situations for the head in professional German football: a video analysis of over 150,000 headers in 110,000 match minutes	5
Load monitoring, strength training, and recovery in futsal: Practitioners’ perspectives	5
Estimating is not measuring: the use of non-invasive estimations of somatic maturity in youth football	5
Influence of the time-task constraint on ocular metrics of semi-elite soccer players	5

Injury incidence and prevalence in Finnish top-level football – one-season prospective cohort study	5
Post-game recovery of isometric hamstring strength in a high-risk hamstring strain injury group throughout an Australian Football League season	5
Are hip joint imaging findings associated with symptoms and early hip osteoarthritis features in elite male Australian Football League draftees?	5
Reference values for performance test outcomes relevant to English female soccer players	5
The psychological impact of COVID-19 infection on athletes: example of professional male football players	4
Monitoring the beautiful adapted game: a 3-year prospective surveillance study of injuries in elite English Para football	4
When and how do professional soccer players experience maximal intensity sprints in LaLiga?	4
Exploring the role of socioeconomic status and psychological characteristics on talent development in an English soccer academy	4
Evolution of physical and technical parameters in the Spanish LaLiga 2012-2019	4
Exploring Factors Related to Goal Scoring Opportunities in Professional Football	4
Contextual factors and match-physical performance of international-level footballers with cerebral palsy	4
A holistic analysis of collective behaviour and team performance in Australian Football via structural equation modelling	4
An audit of hormonal contraceptive use in Women’s Super League soccer players; implications on symptomology	4
A video analysis framework for the rugby league tackle	4
Author reply to Weaving et al.: comment on: ‘A contemporary multi-modal mechanical approach to training monitoring in elite professional soccer: a mathematical problem?’	4
Coach perceptions of FA youth heading guidance: an online survey	4
Physical demands in Spanish male and female elite football referees during the competition: a prospective observational study	4
Women’s football fandom and growing the ‘Beautiful’ game	4
Analysis of match performance of elite soccer players across confederations during the Men’s and Women’s World Cup	4
The use of sand as an alternative surface for training, injury prevention and rehabilitation in English professional football and barriers to implementation: a cross-sectional survey of medical staff	4
Addressing head injury risk in youth football: are heading guidelines the answer?	4
Multi-hosting UEFA European Football Championship: fair enough between participating teams?	3
Most common movements preceding goal scoring situations in female professional soccer	3
Relative age effects and the youth-to-senior transition in Italian soccer: the underdog hypothesis versus knock-on effects of relative age	3
Where do you go when your periods go?: A case-study examining secondary amenorrhea in a professional internationally-capped female soccer player through the lens of the sport nutritionist	3
Leadership in Finnish elite football: associations between players’ self-assessed leadership roles and player-assessed head coach leadership behavior by player gender and age	3
How fast is fast? Defining velocity zones in women’s rugby league	3
An investigation into the effect of audiences on the soccer penalty kick	3
Match activity profile and heart rate responses of top-level soccer referees during Brazilian national first and second division and regional championships	3
Knee and ACL injury rates in NCAA soccer players: an epidemiological study of 10 consecutive seasons	3
Monitoring the physical demands of training in Rugby League: the practices and perceptions of practitioners	3
A standardized method for quantifying and characterizing repetitive head impacts in soccer matches using video footage	3
Broadening our understanding of injury mechanisms to include at-risk situations: an overview of potential injuries at the FIFA men’s World Cup Qatar 2022 ^TM	3
Evaluation of a goalkeeper-specific motor coordination assessment in youth football	3
The effectiveness of 3D multiple object tracking training on decision-making in soccer	3
The road to excellence in women’s football: a retrospective cohort study over the last 30 years with Swiss national players	3
Concurrent validity and between-unit reliability of a foot-mounted inertial measurement unit to measure velocity during team sport activity	3
Effect of an Energy Drink On Muscle and Liver Damage Enzymes, And Cardiovascular Indices in Soccer Players	2
The variability of physical match demands in elite women’s football	2
Acute fuelling and recovery practices of academy soccer players: implications for growth, maturation, and physical performance	2
Effectiveness of wearable technology to optimize youth soccer players’ off-training behaviour and training responses: a parallel group randomized trial	2
Injuries are negatively associated with player progression in an elite football academy	2
Environmental surface contamination with SARS-CoV-2 in professional football clubs	2
The development of metrics for measuring the level of symmetry in team formation and ball movement flow, and their association with performance	2
Perceptions of Professional Football Players on Injury Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies	2
Understanding the role of gaze behaviour and coaching experience in the assessment of youth soccer teams	2
Optimising classification in sport: a replication study using physical and technical-tactical performance indicators to classify competitive levels in rugby league match-play	2
A preliminary study of the reliability of soccer skill tests within a modified soccer match simulation protocol	2
Resilience as a protective factor for well-being and emotional stability in elite-level football players during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic	2
Prescribing playing intensity in small-sided games using rating of perceived effort among youth soccer players: a randomized crossover trial	2
Physical fitness profiles of female Australian football players across five competition levels	2
Additional time error in association football is associated with interruption type and goal difference	2
Driving the future of health and performance in Women’s football	2
An exploration of elite Japanese female footballers’ acute cultural transition experiences in Europe	2
Data analytics in the football industry: a survey investigating operational frameworks and practices in professional clubs and national federations from around the world	2
Elite female football players’ perception of the impact of their menstrual cycle stages on their football performance. A semi-structured interview-based study	2
A risk-reward assessment of passing decisions: comparison between positional roles using tracking data from professional men’s soccer	2
Do environmental temperatures and altitudes affect physical outputs of elite football athletes in match conditions? A systematic review of the ‘real world’ studies	2
Knowledge, attitude, and behaviour around concussion at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023: part 1 - medical staff	2