- FIFPRO’s High-Performance Advisory Network (HPAN) was established in May 2024 and, alongside its primary group work, has already contributed evidence-based analysis at leading player workload and performance events
- As the latest component of Player IQ, FIFPRO’s burgeoning knowledge centre, the network is comprised of expert practitioners operating in high-performance roles across elite sport and is chaired by Dr Darren Burgess
- HPAN will continue to deliver thought-leadership, inform player-centric policy development and enhance existing research and expertise for FIFPRO over the coming months
Since being launched in May 2024, FIFPRO’s Player IQ High-Performance Advisory Network (HPAN) has been providing industry-leading insights and analysis on player workload and emerging performance technology.
Comprised of expert performance practitioners across different regions and sports, HPAN is a dedicated platform for elite performance coaches to drive discussion and deliver specialist feedback on priority topics in football, providing an independent and complementary resource to ongoing player union activities on performance issues.
Most recently, HPAN members played an active role in last month’s NBPA Performance Summit in Malaga, Spain – an expert-led forum on athlete workload and human performance – with members Lorena Torres and Gregory Dupont participating in panel discussions focused on managing workload and optimising performance, alongside leading performance experts from the NFL, NBA and NASA.
"Managing player workload remains a key component in optimising performance and it’s an area that basketball, as a sport, has continued to address through regulations designed to protect player health and welfare," said Torres, who has worked in high performance roles at NBA franchises such as the Philadelphia 76ers and San Antonio Spurs, as well as in football with FC Barcelona.
The NBPA Performance Summit also enabled interaction and engagement with player unions across different sports and industry experts from the fields of technology, medicine, health and performance.
Leading NBA players including Jaylen Brown and Miles McBride spoke candidly about their approach to achieving peak performance and the impact that workload regulations have had on their health. The summit also generated fruitful engagement on player protection from the sporting unions of football (FIFPRO), tennis (PTPA), American football (NFLPA), and basketball (ELPA and NBPA).
"Alongside the opportunity to engage with a variety of leading practitioners, the summit enabled me to gain a greater understanding of the excellent work that player unions are doing to support performance, while at the same time protecting player health and wellbeing," said Torres.
Constructive exchanges on player workload at NBPA Performance Summit
'Players and performance coaches have most practical knowledge on workload'
In May 2024, HPAN members Dr Darren Burgess and Paulo Barreira participated in the FIFPRO x PFA Player Workload Event in London, England prior to the UEFA Champions League final.
Dr Burgess, HPAN’s Chair, presented FIFPRO Player Workload Monitoring findings for the 2023/24 season at the event which detailed player workload demands across various metrics amidst a calendar that has reached "breaking point". The event also featured panel discussions between player unions and leading national leagues, who engaged in constructive dialogue on the inadequacies of the existing international match calendar and the harm posed by further competition expansion.
"We’re extremely pleased with the contribution of HPAN during the first few months," said Dr Burgess, who has experience in high-performance roles at Arsenal, Liverpool, the Australian men’s national team and Melbourne AFL.
"The members’ enthusiasm and engagement, alongside their ability to analyse priority topics and advise on practical solutions for implementation, continues to add significant value to our development work during group meetings."
The latest HPAN quarterly meeting took place in early July where the agenda focused on player workload metrics and the practical implementation of regulatory safeguards. The working meeting also featured contributions from Prof Dr Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Chief Medical Officer, and Michael Leahy, FIFPRO’s Strategy and Intelligence Manager for Men’s Football and Player IQ.
Acknowledging the immediate impact of the group, Leahy said: "HPAN has added another dimension to our policy development work and the experts have served as excellent ambassadors for our player-centric perspectives when participating in external industry events.
"Players and performance coaches are two groups who possess the most practical knowledge on player workload and performance. It is therefore vital that both are integrated effectively in calendar discussions around workload management and potential regulatory safeguards."
Over the coming weeks, HPAN will provide further expert support and continue to collaborate with the FIFPRO team on relevant sections of the upcoming FIFPRO Player Workload Monitoring Annual Report for 2024, which is scheduled to be published in September.
