- The latest Consensus Statement published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine says the multimodal sideline evaluation of concussions on athletes should take at least 10-15 minutes
- On the back of Consensus Statement’s guidance, FIFPRO repeats its call to permit temporary concussion substitution trials in the case of a suspected concussion in football
- Findings re-confirm FIFPRO and World Leagues Forum’s stance on temporary substitutions to be implemented to ensure effective assessments that will protect health and wellbeing of players
The latest Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM) contains fresh guidance on assessing and managing a potentially concussed athlete.
Footballers, like any employee, are entitled to a safe working environment. As concussions can pose a severe risk to a player’s short- and long-term wellbeing, FIFPRO is therefore at the forefront of addressing this serious health concern in football.
Published this month in the BJSM, the latest Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport (6th version) says the sideline evaluation of a potentially concussed athlete should take at least 10-15 minutes.
It reads: “Typically, the process of conducting a multimodal screen to evaluate a potential concussion takes at least 10–15 minutes. Sport organisations are strongly advised to allow for at least that amount of time for an adequate evaluation and to accommodate such an assessment off-field, preferably in a quiet area away from the pressures and scrutiny of match play.”
Read the full Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport
The Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport is a key document that has been playing an important role since 2001 in shaping how sport governing bodies set concussion policies and protocols.
On the back of the recommendation published in the BJSM, FIFPRO repeats its call to permit temporary concussion substitution trials – a solution that would allow footballers more time to be assessed and help create a safer working environment for players.
FIFPRO’s Chief Medical Officer Prof Dr Vincent Gouttebarge said: "This 6th version of the Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport includes a strong call to sport governing bodies to ratify their rules in order to provide medical teams with at least 10-15 minutes for their sideline evaluation of potentially concussed players.
"This empowers FIFPRO’s claim for temporary concussion substitution trials in the interest of player welfare.”
FIFPRO and the World Leagues Forum (WLF), signatories of the Global Labour Agreement (GLA), are calling for the required 10-15 minutes to be implemented, in order to ensure effective assessments are carried out that will protect the health and wellbeing of players.
Based on guidance from the medical community that a temporary concussion substitute may further the health and safety of footballers, the professional football leagues and player unions in England, France and USA previously petitioned for the trial, which was turned down by The IFAB in January 2023.
FIFPRO reaffirms the importance for the professional football leagues and their player unions to take such important steps in the pursuit of our collective interest to advance player health and safety while maintaining the integrity of competitions.
More on the Global Labour Agreement between FIFPRO and WLF can be found HERE.
