FIFPRO performance experts meet ahead of London health summit

• FIFPRO’s High-Performance Advisory Network held its first meeting of its third season on the eve of the FIFPRO x Cleveland Clinic Peak Performance & Health Summit
• Experts from club and national team football discussed research and practical challenges affecting players
• Their insights will help shape FIFPRO’s future work on player health and performance

FIFPRO’s High-Performance Advisory Network (HPAN) met in London on Monday to discuss key issues affecting player health and performance in men’s football.

Held in a hybrid format, the meeting brought together experts working across club and national team football for the first time this season. It took place in advance of the FIFPRO x Cleveland Clinic Peak Performance & Health Summit, which brings football and medical experts together to discuss the future of player health and performance.

HPAN was established to bring the knowledge of people working closely with players into FIFPRO’s research and policy discussions. Now in its third season, the network provides a forum for experts to examine evidence alongside the demands they see in high-performance environments.

At the London meeting members discussed current research into working time, offered feedback from their work with players and helped identify priorities for future projects. Their perspectives can help assess how research findings translate into practical measures to protect player health.

HPAN Chair Dr Darren Burgess acknowledged the success of the group, saying, "the network’s greatest strength is bringing together practitioners 'walking the walk' in elite sport to shape practical, evidence-based guidance on key player health and performance issues".

Dr Burgess is also the Director of Performance at Juventus and previously held senior performance roles at Arsenal, Liverpool, the Australia men’s national team and Melbourne AFL.

He added: "I'd like to commend the members of the group who travelled here to London from all parts of the world, demonstrating their ongoing engagement and commitment."

Workload monitoring 

Player workload remains an important part of FIFPRO’s work in men’s football. Its effects extend beyond match minutes: travel, disrupted sleep, mental stress and accumulated fatigue can all affect a player’s ability to recover and perform. 

HPAN’s expertise helps FIFPRO examine those demands through the experience of those supporting players day to day.

Spearheading the HPAN group from the FIFPRO side, Michael Leahy, emphasised the beneficial impact of the burgeoning group in providing unique value.

He said: "Over its first two years, our High-Performance Advisory Network has demonstrated the value of bringing leading performance expertise into some of football’s most important discussions on player health, workload and performance. 

"Alongside the research and leadership of FIFPRO Medical Director, Prof Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, the network has strengthened our evidence-based approach, provided practical insights from across elite sport, and helped translate knowledge into action for the benefit of players and their unions."

About HPAN 

Established in 2024, HPAN is a dedicated platform for elite performance coaches to drive discussion and deliver specialist feedback on priority topics in football.

Comprised of expert performance practitioners across different regions and sports, HPAN provides an independent and complementary resource to ongoing player union activities on performance issues.