The FA and WSL Launch Study Into Knee Injuries in Women's Football
The Football Association and WSL Football have launched a research project to find out why anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries happen in women's football, and how to reduce them. The ACL is a key ligament inside the knee. A serious tear usually means months on the sidelines.
The study is led by researcher Hanna Lehtovirta. It is a PhD project carried out with Imperial College London and funded by the FA. Sports knee surgeon Simon Ball is also involved. BBC Sport reports that players from every Women's Super League and WSL2 club are invited to take part, alongside medical, performance and coaching staff.
The case for the work rests on how often these injuries happen. Research suggests female footballers are two to six times more likely to tear an ACL than male footballers. Several high-profile players have been hit. Vivianne Miedema, Beth Mead, Leah Williamson and Sam Kerr have all suffered ACL injuries in recent years.
The study will be done in two stages. The first uses player surveys. These cover injury history, training and match workload, and hormonal, nutritional and psychological factors. The study will then compare data from players who have suffered ACL injuries since the 2018-19 season with data from players who have not. The second stage will involve interviews with players and staff about how they see ACL injuries and what they think of training and prevention methods.
Hormones have been a major question for some time. In April 2025, FIFA, football's world governing body, announced funding for research into whether changes across the menstrual cycle could be contributing to ACL injuries in women's football. The FA study includes hormonal factors among the areas it will look at.
The work also sits alongside a wider international effort. Project ACL is a three-year study launched by FIFPRO, the global players' union, with the aim of cutting ACL injuries in professional women's football. In April 2026, Reuters reported that the United States' women's professional league, the NWSL, had joined the initiative.
The timing matters for another reason. The FA said in 2024 that the number of women and girls playing football had risen by 56 per cent over four years. More players means more people who could be affected by the injury problem, and more people whose experience could shape the answers.
For fans, the practical question is simple. The study wants to know what is going wrong and what can be done about it. Its first stage depends on players being willing to share detailed information about their bodies and their workloads. How many clubs and players sign up will shape how much the study can show.
