IS TECHNOLOGY IN FOOTBALL ADJUSTED FOR WOMEN?

Introduction

Women’s football is and has been experiencing rapid growth at both elite and amateur level. In parallel, the sports technology market is growing. Technology is a necessity in football to develop designs for player uniforms, balls, boots, monitoring, etc. However, the standard product in football has traditionally been designed with the male player as a starting point and women’s football has most often used the same design for lack of an alternative. This article summarises a recently published article led by the Dr Katrine Okholm Kryger (Associate Professor, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, England). The article has coauthors from both the world of research and the world of football - including Leah Williamson (captain of the Lionesses and Arsenal WFC) as well as employees from the English national team and Women’s Super League clubs.

This summary focuses specifically on player clothing, football boots, pitches, and balls as well as tracking equipment. The original article also discusses other topics such as sports bras, apps to track the player’s menstrual cycle, medical equipment, and sports-friendly menstrual pads/tampons. If these are interested, we refer to the article:

Okholm Kryger, K, Thomson, A, Tang, A, Brown, N, Bruinvels, G, Rosenbloom, C, Carmody, S, Williamson, L, Datson, N, Jobson, E, and Mehta, R. Technology in elite women’s football. Progressions made and barriers faced. Sports Engineering, 25

It is common knowledge that football technology is designed with a ‘default’ focus on men. This fact is not specific to football and is seen in many other professions such as aerospace, where toilets and spacesuits were only recently adapted for female astronauts1,2. Technology in football is a huge industry and has been developed for decades for men, while women’s football has used the same kits, balls, boots, etc. without consideration or adaptation to body shape and needs. This came with fit and discomfort issues as mentioned recently by female footballers in the media, who demand adjustments for them and their specific needs3–5. We, therefore, reviewed essential products used by football player, with a specific focus on the needs of women’s football.

The major sports brands first introduced a kit adapted to the women’s fit in 2019 for the FIFA World Cup. However, one specific aspect of the kit still provokes debate – the colour of the players’ shorts3. The female players at the club usually play in the same colour scheme as their male counterparts, but players have expressed dissatisfaction with this in the media. Their concern stems from the concern of bleeding through light shorts during menstruation. This debate is not unique to football and has been discussed in other sports such as tennis and rugby as well6,7. Consequently, several teams (e.g., Manchester City and the England women’s national team) have announced changes so that female players no longer need to wear brightly coloured shorts. The authors argue that this is an easy modification to apply in both amateur and elite clubs, and suggest that clubs should consider a darker shorts colour for women and girls’ teams when next negotiating with sponsors on kits.

Football is global and a multicultural sport, with players representing different cultural and religious backgrounds. If a woman wishes to, she can play with a sports hijab. However, this has not always been the case as hijabs were only incorporated into FIFA’s laws in 20148,9. Before this, when FIFA banned the use of a hijab at the time, several incidences had taken place, including one in 2011 where the Iranian national team was forced to lose in a qualifying match for the 2012 Olympics. The ban was reasoned as a concern of increased risk of head and neck injuries, despite the fact that there had never been a reported injury from the use of the hijab8. As a result, the sports technology companies Capsters and Resport proved the safety of wearing sports hijabs during football using scientific evidence. The authors use this example to highlight the importance of using and collaborating with sports technology to ensure that football is for everyone.

Today, there are no football boots designed specifically for women on offer among larger boot brands10. Women have a different foot shape than men11 and whilst a football boot’s fit is tight around the foot to allow for optimal agility, it is especially essential that the fit is optimal to reduce the risk of blisters and more serious injuries such as Achilles tendon problems and overload or stress fracture in the forefoot bones10,11. In addition, the number, shape, length and location of studs under the boot are essential for a player to be able to move optimally on the pitch i.e., neither sliding on the ground nor getting stuck to the side. Hence, outsoles are designed to match a surface type (i.e., soft, firm, or artificial grass). However, these guidelines are based on males and not adapted to women’s body weight, muscle mass and increased risk of cruciate ligament injuries10,12,13. Therefore, the advice for now is that women try to find the best fit and choose football boots based on how they feel they interact with the pitch. Therefore, players should preferably have two to three pairs of boots with different grips, which they can choose from on the day, so that it suits the pitch they are playing on. Women’s boots will be launched by the big manufacturers for the 2023 World Cup.

What about pitches and balls?

Women play on the same pitches and with the same balls as men. There are no major concerns from research or the football world about this, although it is different from many other sports where the game is adjusted between sexes such as in basketball (ball size), handball (ball size) or volleyball (net height). Instead, the concern of the football world and by the authors is focused on pitch quality 14–17. The Women’s Super League is often played in stadia shared with men’s teams from lower leagues who play on Saturday, leading to an eroded and worn-out playing surface for the women’s match played on the following day. Since the quality of the pitch is essential for the quality of the game as well as the players’ risk of injury, it is worrying that the women often do not play on optimally curated pitches.

What about tracking equipment?

Measurement (tracking) is part of everyday life, especially at elite level. Both women and men are usually equipped with, GPS and heartrate measuring devices to analyse their performance. The current standard values used in men’s football are well established, whilst the women’s game still lacks research and consensus 18 Female players express that the equipment is often uncomfortable to wear, such as the GPS device. This sits in a tight vest fitted for a male body, which a female would need to put on over the sports bra. This can alter the fit and, therefore, affect data quality. In addition, the heartrate monitor, which often is a band worn around the waist under the chest can interfere with the band from the sports bra. The authors stress that these are further indicators of a lack of adaptation to the female athlete and a problem yet to be solved.

Key takeaways

• The football world and technology in football have for many years had men’s football as the ‘default’.

• Women need adapted technology to optimise performance and minimise the risk of injury.

• Women do not want to play in white/ light coloured shorts.

• Sports hijabs are now allowed as a safe option on the pitch, helping football inclusion and diversity.

• Today, football boots are not adapted to the shape of women’s feet or traction needs, though women’s specific boots are soon to be launched.

• Women are often given lower priority in the provision of pitches and pitch quality, which can affect the quality of play and the risk of injury.

• GPS and heart rate monitors are often uncomfortable and poorly placed on women, which increases the uncertainty in data collected.

Podcasts https://open.spotify.com/ episode/0mRaBeijIJ5c65JcrYy189 https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ p0dp06zy

*Dr Katrine Okholm Kryger Medical Researcher, FIFA, Zurich, Switzerland; Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Science, St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London UK; Sport and Exercise Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, Sport and Exercise Medicine, London, UK; UEFA Fitness4Football Advisory Group, UEFA, Nyon, Switzerland

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