December 13 – The English Football Association (FA) has announced a first-of- its-kind, medical training course known as the para-Advanced Trauma Medical Management in Football Reaccreditation (ParaATMMiF-R) course.
The first cohort of the ground-breaking course brought together 19 current FA physiotherapists and doctors who work across the seven England football Para teams which include: Blind Men’s and Blind Women’s, Deaf Men’s and Deaf Women’s, Cerebral Palsy (Men’s), Partially Sighted (Men’s) and Powerchair (Mixed) teams to the national training center, St. George’s Park.
Dr. Tom Leggett, a participant on the course and team doctor for the Cerebral Palsy team said: “All medics working within football from doctor, physio or sports therapist, will do a pitch side course of a different level with ATMMiF being the highest. But within the current format there’s nothing specific around disability or Para-athletes and a lot of things might not be applicable.
“That’s why I think it’s so important that The FA are leading the way with this course, for us all to be able to apply our learnings within our day-to-day practices and I hope it sets a trend to improve the healthcare provision around Para-athletes in Para sports.”
The course was first conceptualised in 2019 with the FA Medical Education team in conjunction with the FA Para Football Medical and Physiotherapy leads with the goal of equipping medical staff with best practices to respond to emergencies on the pitch within Para football.
Dr. Lisa Hodgson, FA Medical Education Lead, said: “We’ve put on a one-day refresher for our already qualified ATMMiF staff across our seven Para-squads. This is something we’ve been working on since 2019 and it’s exciting to see it come together – we’re one of the first governing bodies in the world to offer such training and there’s other sports that are interested in partnering with us on developing this further; it’s exciting to be leading the way!
“It’s really important that we establish more courses like this, we should be thinking about the differences because there are differences in treating players across Para football, they all present unique nuances that all medics need to be able to address.”
This training is the first of its kind in world football.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1734897666labto1734897666ofdlr1734897666owedi1734897666sni@o1734897666fni1734897666