FA launches major study into why ACL injuries hit women footballers so often

The Football Association (FA, England's governing body) and WSL Football have launched a major research project into one of the biggest problems in the women's game: ACL injuries. The aim is simple. Understand why they happen and find ways to cut them.

The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a key ligament in the knee. When it goes, players are often out for months.

What is the study?

The FA is funding a PhD study with Imperial College London and sports knee surgeon Simon Ball. Researcher Hanna Lehtovirta will lead it.

Players from every Women's Super League (WSL, England's top women's division) and WSL2 club will be invited to take part. So will medical, performance and coaching staff.

The research has two phases:

• Phase one: player surveys on injury history, training and match load, and hormonal, nutritional and psychological factors. Data from players who have had an ACL injury since 2018-19 will be compared with those who haven't.
• Phase two: interviews with players and staff about how they see ACL injuries and how training and prevention work right now.

Why does it matter?

Research suggests female footballers are two to six times more likely to suffer an ACL injury than male players. Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Sam Kerr have all been through it in recent years.

Previous studies have pointed to possible risk factors: anatomy, hormones, biomechanics and environment. But researchers say we still know little about how those factors interact in the everyday life of elite football.

This study tries to fill that gap by combining scientific data with what players and staff actually experience. Researchers hope the findings will shape future injury prevention, rehabilitation and player welfare strategies.

What happened before?

The issue has been building for a while. In March 2024, a UK parliamentary committee criticised the "slow" response of football authorities to the high rate of ACL injuries among female players.

In April 2025, Fifa (world football's governing body) announced it was funding research into whether hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle could be contributing to the rise in ACL injuries in women's football.

What's next?

The first step is getting players and staff from across the WSL and WSL2 to take part. Once the surveys and interviews are done, the findings are meant to feed into how clubs prevent and manage these injuries.