Injury Pattern According to Player Position in Male Amateur Football Players in Greece: A Retrospective Study.

Background

Football has a high injury risk due to speed and contact, and injury patterns may vary by playing position. Positional roles affect physical and physiological demands and may influence injury characteristics. Although this has been examined in professionals, data from amateur players are scarce. This study examined the incidence, type, and severity of injuries among amateur footballers in Greece with respect to playing position.

Methods

A retrospective epidemiological study analyzed musculoskeletal injuries in 222 amateur male football players during the 2022-2023 season. Data were collected via a CHERRIES-compliant online survey (SurveyMonkey®) from May to July 2023. Eligible participants were active male athletes aged ≥18 years competing in amateur Greek leagues. Injuries were defined according to the FIFA-UEFA consensus and expressed as incidence rates per 1000 h of exposure. Statistical analyses used SPSS v25 with significance at p < 0.05.

Results

Among players (mean age: 25.3 ± 5.7 years), injury prevalence ranged from 65.1% (DFs) to 79.3% (GKs) with no significant association between playing position and injury risk (p = 0.379). Injury incidence ranged from 4.5 to 5.7 per 1000 h, highest among MFs. Incidence rates ranged between 1.33 and 2.74 injuries/1000 h in matches versus 1.33 to 2.09/1000 h in training, with DFs, FWs, and MFs more prone to match injuries, whereas GKs had slightly higher training rates; however, the number of injuries did not significantly differ between games and training across positions (χ2 = 5.21, p = 0.517). Muscle strains and lower-limb injuries predominated. Injury severity differed significantly by position (p = 0.001), but injury type and mechanism did not.

Conclusions

GKs and MFs showed the highest prevalence and incidence, but position was not linked to overall risk. Severity differences highlight the need for position-specific prevention strategies.