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AMMAN — The Asian Football Development Project (AFDP) on Saturday announced the recommendations of a round-table discussion on football medicine, with the aim of improving services provided to athletes in emergencies.
HRH Prince Ali, founder of the AFDP, said the recommendations will serve as guidelines that will “hopefully” contribute towards lowering the number of deaths and injuries on the football pitch.
“Efforts to control such collapses are being exerted in Asia and the entire world, not only in Jordan,” he said at a press conference held on the sidelines of the round-table discussion.
International experts on football medicine — in addition to English footballer Fabrice Muamba, a former Bolton Wanderers player who survived a cardiac arrest during a live match in 2012 — participated in the discussion, held under the name of Qusai Khawaldeh, the under-22 national team footballer who passed away during a Faisali match last year.
The recommendations of the discussion tackled administrative and educational issues, in addition to topics related to prevention, infrastructure and research.
Participants suggested including minimum health requirements under club licensing in order to make them obligatory, according to British cardiologist Andrew Deaner, who helped save Muamba’s life.
“We also recommend establishing effective screening procedures at all levels and making them mandatory at both the club and national team levels,” he told reporters.
The discussion also suggested cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training through partners like the Red Crescent and the Red Cross for medical and non-medical personnel, said Deaner, who spoke on behalf of the discussion committee.
“There should also be easy access to equipment, ambulances and related emergency responders,” he added, encouraging national and regional research projects to have more data available with regards to athletes.
Chairman of the medical committee at FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations Michele D’Hooghe said an average of one player passes away every month due to cardiac arrest.
He added that all players participating in world championships undergo a pre-competition medical assessment, but that does not mean that athletes screened will not experience cardiac arrest.
Muamba urged all athletes to undergo the medical screening, adding that he is thankful for “having the right medical team at the right place and time”.