– It is an extreme challenge that has to be taken up now. That’s what Norwegian star forward Ada Hegerberg said at a press conference before Norway’s important national league match against Portugal. She is referring to the ever-increasing injury problem in women’s football. A Norwegian research report published at the National Library of Medicine shows that one in five players in the Toppserien, the highest level for women in Norway, has a health problem which means that the player cannot train or participate as normal. – A huge problem The investigation is based on the 2020 and 2021 season, but became a topic again after Vålerenga player Mimmi Löwfenius Veum left the cup final in tears. Vålerenga has confirmed that she suffered a serious knee injury, and is likely to be out for at least a year. Talk worries Hegerberg. She herself has struggled with serious cruciate ligament injuries and had what she describes as “a frustrating autumn”, and now demands that greater focus be seen on injuries in women’s football. When asked by news about one of the five, she replies: – It is a huge problem, and I feel that we talk and talk about it, but is there anything that is being addressed? That is the question we are forced to ask ourselves. I know from my own experience that there is not enough expertise around the female body or what is the right exercise, says Hegerberg. KNEE TROUBLE: Ada Hegerberg has had several injuries that have kept her out of action for a long time. Photo: Lise Åserud / NTB “Like little men” – As a woman, I have been in the situation myself, I have faced serious injuries. It is perhaps where I felt most hopeless in my career, says Hegerberg. Recently, Rosenborg player Cesilie Andreassen told news that she knows she has been wrongly coached her whole career. She described it as that she and other women have been trained as “little men”. – It’s not a stupid quote, says Hegerberg with a small grin. She immediately becomes more serious. – All research has been based on men for years, and I think she’s really onto something with the training part. We are different, and when the entire system is based on men and they “cut and paste” women, it does not mean that it is the solution or the way to go. Hegerberg believes that more women-specific expertise, help and training can take women’s football to new heights. – I think if we figure it out, we can start to reach a level we haven’t seen before, and that is what our goal is. If football is to go in the right direction, we have to have the best players on the pitch. Now it’s almost the case that whoever manages to stay the most injury-free manages to have the best seasons. It is a huge problem, says the Lyon striker. SERIOUS: Recently, the great Spanish talent Gavi suffered a serious knee injury which means that he will probably miss the EC next summer. Photo: JUAN MEDINA / Reuters On the men’s side too, there has been increasing concern about injuries. Several tournaments, matches and a tighter match schedule combined with a lot of stops and starts in games, due to video refereeing among other things, have contributed to that. – We are actors, but have no hand in the game in connection with all decisions that are made in organizations such as Fifa, Uefa and confederations. There are more and more battles, but there is no one who actually plays the game who has a dialogue with them. It is a brutal reality, and the situation will persist if it is not addressed, she says. – Being compared to the boys In the last couple of days, several of the Norwegian national team players have talked about the survey that shows the injury problem facing women’s football, and several of them have been worried. – Oh, there were a surprising number of people, was the first thing Barcelona player Ingrid Syrstad Engen said when she was presented with the speech. – You hear a lot about there being too many injuries, but I would not have thought that it was so high, she said. Enga thinks it is important that further research is carried out, and Guro Bergsvand says the same. CONCERN: National team player Guro Bergsvand wants more research aimed specifically at female soccer players. Photo: Annika Byrde / NTB – One out of five sounds a lot. There has been too little research on female athletes. We are compared to the boys all the time, but we have a completely different body. It is therefore important that research is carried out in this way, so that one becomes wiser about the differences and can facilitate injury-preventive training. And now it must actually be researched more thoroughly. Working with measures The Norwegian Sports Academy, the Sports Health Center and the Norwegian Occupational Hygiene Association have started a project to carry out injury prevention in the Toppserien. – It is a huge boost that we have now joined forces, are working together and using each other’s expertise. Hopefully it will give us a real boost in that area, says Håvard Moksnes, physiotherapist at Olympiatoppen and Idrettens Helsesenter, to news. Moksnes is known to many as Karsten Warholm’s physio, and is also connected to the medical support system around the women’s national football team. He is very happy with the mapping that has been done. – We have a goal of introducing more and more thorough injury prevention measures in women’s football, he says. TEK TAK: Håvard Moksnes is one of those who will work for fewer injuries in the Toppserien. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB One of the people behind the research article, Roar Amundsen, tells news that they were not surprised by the findings. – I guess we have rather confirmed that it was as we thought. There are more muscle injuries than before, and that needs to be worked on. Amundsen says the suspicion came as a result of the pace in women’s football increasing very quickly. Now he and the other researchers are looking at the way forward. – We are in the process of continuing this project where we have collected all the medical support equipment in the Toppserien and are working on measures. This mapping means that more resources are given to, among other things, physiotherapists in the Toppserien. About time, believes Ada Hegerberg. – The statistics are brutal, she says, and underlines: – We have a long way to go. The intensity increases and more and more is required of us as individuals. We need help to know what needs to be done to take better care of the players.
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Ada Hegerberg sounds the alarm – no tek Toppserien grip – news Sport – Sports news, results and broadcast schedule
