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March 1, 2024
This week, the English Football Association (FA) and the UK’s Women’s Super League (WSL) and Champion clubs announced precedent-setting measures to support and increase knowledge across all aspects of female athlete health. This mandate for league-wide training on women’s health is the first to be overseen by a national governing body.
When referring to the significance of the project, Well HQ co-Founder Baz Moffat stated in a LinkedIn post, “the key word…is ‘mandate’ – the WSL/WC leagues have set the expectation that if you are working with female players it’s not good enough anymore to be an expert at your job, you need to understand female physiology…this is a key message, because right now most coaches, teachers and trainers of girls and women are qualified, insured and employed without anyone expecting them to have this knowledge, and without mandatory training very little will change.”
To better support players, the top leagues have been collaborating with women’s sport and physical activity specialists at The Well HQ since 2020. The collaborators engaged in extensive research to better understand and establish procedures and policies that support athlete health.
As a result, “The State of Play Project” report was created following 75 interviews with over 101 players and 19 support staff. The scarcity of existing resources and research on women’s health and fitness demonstrated just how little assistance women have gotten and how it has not been emphasized. Based on the information gathered by the organization, for example, up to 80% of players felt they didn’t have enough knowledge about the menstrual cycle.
Emma Ross, Chief Scientific Officer, Well HQ co-founder and head sports scientists for Team GB during the Rio and Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, shared with The Athletic: “That data we got was mirrored in a big project done by the Government [in 2019] across all women across the UK. Its conclusion was that women, at every life stage, are woefully uneducated about their bodies.”
Building on the newest data, The Well HQ developed the first of its measures, “FootballHer: Continuing Professional Development for All,” an online course launched in October 2023 across 24 WSL and Championship league clubs. Modules encompass menstruation, fertility, maternal health and nutrition among other areas.
As part of the league’s plan, each club will also be expected to nominate a leader from its support staff – a Female Athlete Health Lead (FAHL) – to oversee and establish “leadership and accountability” for each club. Another project initiative is the “Best Practice Guidelines on Pregnancy & Post-Natal Care, Menstrual Cycle Health and Pelvic Health” which is being delivered throughout 2024, including to England Women.
The leagues’ alliance is drawing attention to a crucial problem that is often overlooked but is just as vital to a player as their performance on the field. According to Andy Hudson, performance support manager for the women’s professional game:
“The FA and the league have done some of the heavy lifting in this, so we’ve reduced the (financial) burden on the clubs by resourcing this, investing in it and making sure there is the associated level of practical support and expertise. The broad intention for this is to allow a rising tide to raise all ships. Things that were considered innovative will, down the line, be considered normal.”
A separate research project on female health in grassroots football is also being conducted by The Well HQ, with findings to be released in the coming months.
Source: The Athletic, HerSport
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