Nike has teamed up with the PFA, FIFPRO and Leeds Beckett University to launch ‘Project ACL’ – a project dedicated to researching and reducing the number of ACL injuries in women’s football.

ACL injuries are two to six times more likely to occur in women than men, and according to recent research, about two-thirds of ACL injuries occur in women’s football when there is no physical contact. However, hardly any research has been done to find ways to reduce the frequency of these injuries despite the worryingly high number of players enduring season-ending ACL tears.

The collaborative, three-year project aims to curtail the current ACL crisis that is plaguing the women’s game through increased research into these injuries and methods of preventing them. For example by tracking players’ workload over the season, assessing WSL clubs’ facilities as well as their resources when it comes to injury prevention.

Though the research focuses on the WSL, the findings from ‘Project ACL’ will be shared with leagues and federations around the world in an effort to change the entire game for better.

The number of global ACL injuries has increased tremendously in the last few years. With fixture congestion - at both international and club level - increasing players’ workloads, the risk of ACL tears only increases with every game packed into the footballing calendar.

‘Project ACL’ is a player-centric initiative trying to provide a solution for a problem that has pervaded the game for too long. There is still a lot of work to be done in preventing ACL injuries in women’s football, but this group effort and dedication to improving the women’s game, is a major step in the right direction.