FIFA 11+ Kids warm-up: fewer injuries in kids' football
In a lot of youth teams, the warm-up is the one part of training nobody actually planned. A couple of laps, some stretching, then on to the real stuff. There's a better option: FIFA 11+ Kids, developed by FIFA's medical research centre for players aged 7–13, is a warm-up programme whose effect on injuries has been measured in a large randomised trial [1].
What FIFA 11+ Kids is
The programme has seven exercises, done in the same order at the start of every training session. After a few weeks of familiarisation it takes about 15–20 minutes. The exercises are a running game, skating jumps, single-leg stance, press-ups, single-leg jumps, spiderman walks and a sideways roll [3].
Each exercise has five difficulty levels. You start at level 1, and once the group performs a movement cleanly over several sessions, you move up. The programme targets three things: coordination and balance, leg and core strength, and falling technique [3]. Hardly any youth team trains that last one on purpose, yet FIFA's programme makes it one of three focus areas.
What the research says
FIFA 11+ Kids is unusually well studied for a youth programme. A cluster-randomised trial in four countries followed 3,895 players (under-9, under-11 and under-13 age groups) for one season. Teams using the programme had 48% fewer injuries than teams warming up as usual. Severe injuries dropped by 74% and lower-extremity injuries by 55% [1].
Earlier work by the same research group showed the programme also improves motor skills, including balance and jumping power [2]. So this isn't only injury prevention: the same training builds qualities the game itself demands.
The researchers recommend doing the programme at least once a week. Twice a week gives better protection [1].
How to run it with your team
The simplest approach is to replace your current warm-up with the programme as it is. A few practical notes from the manual [3]:
- Start every exercise at level 1, even with an older group.
- Correct technique immediately. Knee slightly bent, feet pointing forward, core tight — quality beats speed.
- Move up a level only when the movement is clean across several sessions. Racing through the levels isn't the point.
- Keep instructions short. The programme is designed so kids learn it fast.
Fifteen minutes at the start of every session can feel like a lot. Set it against a single long injury layoff and it isn't — and the same time builds balance and body control most teams would want to train anyway.
Looking for content to run after the warm-up? Browse our library of football drills for kids, organised by age group.
Sources
- Rössler, Junge, Bizzini et al. (2018): "A Multinational Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial to Assess the Efficacy of ‘11+ Kids’" — Sports Medicine
- Rössler, Donath, Bizzini & Faude (2016): "A new injury prevention programme for children's football — FIFA 11+ Kids — can improve motor performance" — Journal of Sports Sciences
- FIFA Medical and Research Centre (F-MARC): FIFA 11+ for Kids Manual