Video analysis of potential head injury situations in FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE IN SPORT, vol.29, no.6, pp.688-695, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 29 Issue: 6
- Publication Date: 2026
- Doi Number: 10.1016/j.jsams.2025.11.008
- Journal Name: JOURNAL OF SCIENCE AND MEDICINE IN SPORT
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, CINAHL, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Psycinfo, SportDiscus, Health Research Premium Collection (ProQuest)
- Page Numbers: pp.688-695
- Istanbul University Affiliated: No
Abstract
Objectives: To evaluate potential head injuries across three consecutive FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups held between 2019 and 2024.
Methods: All match footage from the 2019, 2021, and 2024 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cups (men anly tournaments) were evaluated focusing on occurrence of a potential head injury, player actions (including overhead kick), and visible signs fa possible concussion.
Results: A total of 309 potential head injuries were identified across 96 matches (3.2/match), with an incidence of 527.8 potential head injuries per 1000 match-hours, In total, 17.5% (\mathfrak{n} = 54) of potential head injuries were associated with overhead kicks, 17.9% (n=55) demonstrated a visible sign of a possible concussion (involving 51 different players), and 25.3% (n = 78) occurred during aerial duels. Ball-related head impacts accounted for 15.5% of all potential head injuries, rising to 46.3% in overhead kick-related potential head injuries and 34.6% among potential head injuries with visible signs of a possible concussion. Eighty-nine potential head injuries (28.9%) were evaluated by medical staff, 27 (49.1%) of the 55 players with visible signs of a possible concussion were not metically evaluated.
Conclusions: The findings demonstrated that the incidence of potential head injuries in beach soccer is 3.2 per-match, which is 7.6x higher than the data previously reported in men's association football. Player-to-player impact, unintentional ball impacts and overhead kicks contributed significantly to this elevated incidence. The observation that 17.9 % of potential head injuries exhibited visible signs of possible concussion highlights the need for future studies that incorporate clinical evaluations to improve understanding of these potential head injuries
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