The Football Licensing Authority

Injury Statistics
Last Updated: 28-Sep-2007 11:34 AM

Injury Statistics..

ANALYSIS OF INJURY STATISTICS FOR THE 2005/06 FOOTBALL SEASON

1. At the end of each season, we ask all the Premier and Football League clubs to provide us with details of the number of spectators treated for injuries at football matches at their grounds. For reasons of patient confidentiality, we do not collect information on individual cases.

2. Because the football season does not coincide with our financial year, it was not possible to analyse the statistics for the 2005/06 season in time for inclusion in our Annual Report. We are therefore publishing this as a separate document. We shall refer back to it in next year’s Annual Report.

Summary

3. We are very encouraged by the overall results for 2005/06 which represented a further significant improvement over the previous year. The headline figures are as follows.

The downward trend in the reported injury rate continued – from one injury per 28,363 in 2004/05 to one injury per 32,449 in 2005/06. While overall attendances fell by 1%, the overall number of injuries treated fell by 13% from 1,377 to 1,191.

The number of injured spectators taken to hospital fell substantially from 100 in 2004/05 to 65 in 2005/06.

The 1,191 spectators treated for injuries sustained at the ground were greatly outnumbered by the 1,892 treated for illnesses or pre-existing injuries.

Since 2000/01, the overall number of injuries treated has fallen by more than half from 2,429 to 1,191 and the number taken to hospital by over three quarters from 304 to 65.

Detailed analysis

4. The following table shows the number of spectators reported as having been treated for injuries sustained at the ground during the 2005/06 season, in total and broken down by division.

	Premier*	Champion ship	League 1	League 2	Total

Spectators treated for injuries of which	629	228	190	144	1191
Taken to hospital	32	12	16	5	65

Attendance	18,288,872	11,433,857	5,480,189	3,443,679	38,646,597
1 injury per	29,076	50,148	28,843	23,914	32,449

* The Premier League figures include those from the Millennium Stadium. The injury rate in the Premier League alone was one per 38,123.

5. The equivalent figures for 2004/05 were as follows.

	Premier *	Champion -ship	League 1	League 2	Total
Spectators treated for injuries, of which	668	300	234	175	1377
Taken to hospital	55	17	19	9	100

Attendance	18,425,243	11,582,283	5,539,693	3,509,021	39,056,240

1 injury per	27,583	38,608	23,674	20,052	28,363

* The injury rate in the Premier League alone was one per 34,689.

6. In 2005/06, the number of spectators treated for injuries incurred at the ground fell from 1,377 to 1,191. Of these, only 5½% were sufficiently serious to require hospital treatment. By contrast, the number seeking treatment for illnesses or pre-existing injuries rose slightly from 1,838 to 1,892 (over 60% of the total). We are aware that a number of persons entered the ground specifically to obtain treatment.

7. Some two thirds of the injuries resulted from trips or falls, or contact with seats or turnstiles. Most of them comprised cuts and bruises which were treated at the ground. Nearly all of the reduction in the number of reported injuries fell within these categories.

8. Half of the remaining injuries consisted of scalds, mostly from hot drinks. Other smaller groups included spectators hit by the ball, those injured as a result of disorder and those who had been stung by insects. The number of reported injuries in each of these categories was broadly similar to that in previous years. On examination, there were no significant clusters at particular grounds.

9. The most serious incident occurred at a Champions League match when three visiting supporters were injured by flares or fireworks. One spectator was also reported to have been crushed against a barrier on a standing terrace but did not require hospital treatment.

10. We have also compared the past year’s figures with those from five years previously. As can be seen from the following table for 2000/01, this period has seen reported injuries fall by more than half from 2,429 to 1,191 and the number taken to hospital by over three quarters from 304 to 65.

	Premier*	First	Second	Third	Total

Spectators treated for injuries of which	1,272	513	375	269	2,429
Taken to hospital	146	67	55	36	304

Attendance	16,684,436	9,180,792	4,177,600	2,506,791	32,549,619
1 injury per	13,116	17,896	11,140	9,318	13,400

* The Premier League figures include those from the Millennium Stadium.

11. We are conscious, however, that we should treat year on year comparisons with a degree of caution. For example, factors such as the weather can affect conditions underfoot. In order to reduce the impact of any anomalies or single incidents – which we can investigate individually – and enable us to focus on the underlying trends, we have therefore produced the following three-year rolling averages for the 93 grounds together and for each division for this period.

All Divisions	1999/2000 – 2001/02	2000/01 – 2002/03	2001/02 – 2003/04	2002/03 – 2004/05	2003/04 – 2005/06
Spectators treated for injuries of which	2105	1944	1604	1505	1325
Taken to hospital	246	244	185	144	97

Attendance	32,894,941	34,124,121	36,089,790	37,782,618	38,716,488
1 injury per	16,046	18,113	22,787	25,506	29,411

Premier / Millennium Stadium	1999/2000 – 2001/02	2000/01 – 2002/03	2001/02 – 2003/04	2002/03 – 2004/05	2003/04 – 2005/06
Spectators treated for injuries of which	1064	1020	822	761	658
Taken to hospital	102	111	83	71	50

Attendance	16,965,036	17,319,080	17,896,055	18,321,346	18,376,492
1 injury per	16,408	17,545	22,226	24,695	27,940

Championship	1999/2000 – 2001/02	2000/01 – 2002/03	2002/03 – 2004/05	2001/02 – 2003/04	2003/04 – 2005/06
Spectators treated for injuries of which	446	398	316	326	275
Taken to hospital	56	57	33	45	20

Attendance	9,001,070	9,461,447	10,826918	10,034,247	11,305,111
1 injury per	21,111	24,761	34,544	31,029	41,818

League 1	1999/2000 – 2001/02	2000/01 – 2002/03	2001/02 – 2003/04	2002/03 – 2004/05	2003/04 – 2005/06
Spectators treated for injuries of which	355	322	274	242	219
Taken to hospital	55	47	36	25	19

Attendance	4,262,939	4,477,579	4,865,019	5,201110	5,453267
1 injury per	12,062	14,342	18,301	21,643	25,178

League 2	1999/2000 – 2001/02	2000/01 – 2002/03	2002/03 – 2004/05	2001/02 – 2003/04	2003/04 – 2005/06
Spectators treated for injuries of which	240	204	185	182	173
Taken to hospital	33	29	16	21	9

Attendance	2,665,896	2,866,014	3,433244	3,294,468	3,581,618
1 injury per	12,168	14,945	18,526	18,128	20,944

12. The use of rolling averages also enables us to examine whether there are significant differences between clubs in different divisions. This is best done over time because promotions and relegations of particular clubs may significantly affect the distribution in any one year. We have ascertained that there is no automatic correlation between the size and condition of a ground or the quality of the safety management arrangements and the division in which a club may find itself during a given season.

13. From these averages, we can discern a continuing fall in both the number and rate of treatments across all four divisions. While some of this may originally have been due to better reporting, there can be no doubt that it has largely been driven by the improvements in spectator accommodation, stewarding and safety management.

14. At first glance, the Championship has long enjoyed the lowest aggregate injury rate. However, the figures for the Premier League are dominated by two or three large grounds (including the Millennium Stadium). Once these are set aside, results are generally comparable. There are no obvious differences between the spectator accommodation, the safety management or the behaviour of spectators.

15. The reported injuries in the two lower divisions have fallen broadly in line with those in the Premiership and Championship, in particular since the enforcement of strict requirements on standing accommodation in 1999. Nonetheless, these divisions still suffers from higher injury rate – though the absolute numbers are low. Among the factors at play are likely to be the lesser quality of the accommodation (including the retention of standing terraces) and fewer resources to devote to safety.

16. The relationship between standing terraces and injury rates is by no means clear. However, we have compared the level of reported injuries at such grounds (two in the Championship, eight in League 1 and 15 in League 2) with those at other grounds. The following table of injuries treated in 2005/06 suggests that, taken as a whole, grounds that retain standing terraces have higher reported injury rates than those which are now all seated.

	All-seated grounds	League 2 grounds	Grounds with terracing *
Injuries	1017	144	174
Attendance	34,760,192	3,443,679	3,886,405
1 injury per	34,179	23,914	22,336

* These figures relate to injuries throughout the ground. Those occurring in standing areas are not always separately identified in the returns.

17. We are aware that the numbers of people recorded as having been treated may not always be accurately reflect the numbers who have been injured. Not all spectators who have sustained minor injuries such as cuts and grazes seek treatment. There is anecdotal evidence that their decision may sometimes be influenced by their age, the proximity of the first aid post and whether they are visiting supporters who do not want to miss the coach home.

18. In these circumstances, it is particularly difficult to obtain accurate information as to the number of spectators injured while standing in seated areas. From our own observations, we are aware that these do not always seek treatment. Moreover, it is often unclear whether a spectator who has tripped, slipped or fallen in a seated stand was in the seated area, in the gangway or even in the concourse. First aid personnel are not required to record the circumstances in which injuries were sustained.

19. We believe that there is a need for more targeted information on this specific issue. Realistically, this can only be collected and analysed on a match by match basis by the clubs. We are looking to working with them and the football authorities to this end.

Conclusion

20. The further substantial reduction in the number of spectators seeking treatment and in particular in the number taken to hospital during 2005/06 across all divisions was particularly encouraging. The clubs, under the oversight of the local authorities, are to be commended for what they have achieved.

21. However, we must be alert to any risk of complacency. While some injuries are almost impossible to prevent – there being limits, for example, to which clubs can control where children stick their fingers – the clubs, and in particular their stewards, must remain vigilant.

Football Licensing Authority
Secretariat

November 2006

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