Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 May 27;59(11):751-760.
doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2025-109751.

Recommendations for cardiac screening and emergency action planning in youth football: a FIFA consensus statement

Aaron L Baggish  1   2 , Mats Borjesson  3 , Guido E Pieles  4   5 , Christian Schmied  6 , Clea Simone Sabino de Souza Colombo  7 , Cecilia Gonzales Corcia  8 , Jonathan A Drezner  9 , Katharina Grimm  10 , Gary Mak  11 , André La Gerche  12 , Benjamin D Levine  13 , Sabiha Gati  14 , Andrew Massey  10 , Prince Pambo  15   16 , Antonio Pelliccia  17 , Margot Putukian  18 , Yasser Abdelrahman  19 , Sanjay Sharma  20 , Mathew G Wilson  21 , Andreas Serner  22 ; FIFA Youth Cardiac Screening Review Panel
Collaborators, Affiliations

Recommendations for cardiac screening and emergency action planning in youth football: a FIFA consensus statement

Aaron L Baggish et al. Br J Sports Med. .

Abstract

Sudden cardiac death is the leading medical cause of death among football players. Determining the optimal cardiac screening, the use of carefully selected medical assessments to detect underlying cardiovascular conditions associated with sudden cardiac arrest/death, is a desired objective of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) for football players of all ages. To date, cardiac screening recommendations in football have primarily focused on adult competitive players. Acknowledging its responsibility for player health worldwide, FIFA convened an international working group of cardiology and sports medicine experts to develop cardiac screening recommendations for youth football players. This group performed structured literature reviews and ultimately congregated in January of 2024, when recommendations were presented, scrutinised and judged using a systematic process. The final FIFA recommendations for youth cardiac screening include personal medical history, family medical history, focused physical examination and resting 12-lead electrocardiography. This document provides detailed rationale and clinical recommendations for youth cardiac screening and emphasises the importance of emergency action planning.

Keywords: Cardiology; Football.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: AB declares consulting fees for his role as clinical cardiologist for the United States Soccer Federation (USSF). GEP declares directorship of the sports cardiology consulting company ‘Cardiac Health and Performance Ltd’. AS, AM and KG declare full-time employment by FIFA. MP declares consulting fees for her role as Chief Medical Officer for Major League Soccer and as a Team Physician with the USSF. SS receives consulting fees from multiple football clubs in the English Football League. JAD is Editor-in-Chief of BJSM, and MB, AL, AP and MW are on the BJSM editorial board.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Overview of the FIFA youth cardiac screening recommendations.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Overview of the fundamental elements of the ‘pitch-side’ emergency action plan
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Harmon KG, Asif IM, Klossner D, et al. Incidence of sudden cardiac death in National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes. Circulation. 2011;123:1594–600. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.004622. - DOI - PubMed
    1. van der Werf C, van Langen IM, Wilde AAM. Sudden death in the young: what do we know about it and how to prevent? Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol. 2010;3:96–104. doi: 10.1161/CIRCEP.109.877142. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Malhotra A, Dhutia H, Finocchiaro G, et al. Outcomes of Cardiac Screening in Adolescent Soccer Players. N Engl J Med. 2018;379:524–34. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1714719. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Petek BJ, Churchill TW, Moulson N, et al. Sudden Cardiac Death in National Collegiate Athletic Association Athletes: A 20-Year Study. Circulation. 2024;149:80–90. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.065908. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Couper K, Putt O, Field R, et al. Incidence of sudden cardiac death in the young: a systematic review. BMJ Open. 2020;10:e040815. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-040815. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types