Epidemiology and clinical characteristics of football injuries among academy players in Ghana
Objective To determine the epidemiology and clinical characteristics of match and training injuries among football players at an academy in Ghana.Methods In this prospective observational study, we followed 80 youth and adult football players at a Ghanaian academy over a season of 39 weeks. Medical attention and time-loss injuries, as well as exposure times of players, were recorded by resident physiotherapists using a standardised injury surveillance form. The average weekly injury prevalence was calculated. Injury incidence rates were calculated per 1000 exposure hours, with significance indicated as 95% CIs.Results 126 injuries were recorded during the season, with an average weekly injury prevalence of 4.1%. The overall injury incidence was 4.5 (95% CI 3.8 to 5.4) injuries per 1000 hours with under 14 (5.8 (3.3 to 10.2)/1000 hours) and under 18 players (5.7 (4.4 to 7.4)/1000 hours) recording a higher incidence than under 16 (5.1 (3.5 to 7.4)/1000 hours) and senior players (2.7 (1.9
