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Archie's Drills · S1E02

The FIFA 11+ warm-up

  • More Physical drills
  • Injury-prevention warm-up
  • 1 player or a whole team
  • Age 14+ (ages 7-13: FIFA 11+ Kids)
  • Video length 0:53
Download the drill sheet (PDF, 952 KB)
Transcript

Teams that used this warm-up had fewer injuries. Here's FIFA's 11+, for players fourteen and up. Younger players have their own version. It takes about twenty minutes. Running, then strength, jumps and balance, then running again. You need flat grass, six pairs of cones, five metres apart, and an adult watching. Watch. Lift into a forearm plank, and hold twenty seconds. First, elbows under your shoulders, hips not sagging. Now squat, hold, and jump up high. Then, land soft and quiet. Do it all before training, at least twice a week. Before a match, just the running. Then take the free test at footballreach.com.

What it trains

FIFA 11+ is FIFA's injury-prevention warm-up for players aged 14 and over (FIFA 11+ Kids is the version for ages 7-13), done before training. In a 2017 meta-analysis of four trials in recreational and sub-elite football, teams that used FIFA 11+ had 39% fewer injuries than control teams (rate ratio 0.61). In a study of 1,055 female players aged 13-17 in Norway, those who did it most consistently had 35% lower injury risk than those who did it a middling amount (a link, not proof). The trials tested the full programme, run by coaches with whole teams. No warm-up can stop every injury. FIFA 11+ is FIFA's programme: Football Reach is not linked to or endorsed by FIFA.

Set up

  • 6 pairs of cones
  • Cones 5 m apart
  • An adult watching

How it works

  1. Set out 6 to 10 pairs of cones, about 5-6 m apart, on flat grass, with a ball for the balance exercise.
  2. Part 1, running (8 min): the 6 running exercises on the FIFA 11+ poster, 2 sets each. Alone, shuffle sideways instead of circling a partner, and jump sideways without the shoulder contact (our adaptation).
  3. Part 2, strength, jumps and balance (10 min): plank, side plank, single-leg balance holding a ball, squats and jumps, at level 1 first. We leave the partner hamstring exercise to coach-led sessions.
  4. Plank (FIFA calls it the bench): lie on your front on your forearms and feet, elbows under your shoulders. Lift up and hold 20-30 s. 3 sets.
  5. Jumps: bend slowly until your knees are at about 90 degrees, hold 2 s, jump as high as you can and land softly. Keep going for 30 s. 2 sets.
  6. Part 3, running (2 min): across the pitch, bounding, then plant and cut, 2 sets each. Before a match, do Parts 1 and 3 only.

Coaching points

  1. Elbows under your shoulders. Plank: hold one straight line from your shoulders to your feet, elbows directly under your shoulders. Try not to sway or arch your back.
  2. Land soft and quiet. Jumps: land softly on the balls of your feet with your hips and knees slightly bent, so the landing is quiet. Do not let your knees buckle inwards.

Not this

Letting your hips sag and your back arch in the plank. Keep one straight line from shoulders to feet instead.

Dose

  • At least twice a week
  • Match day: running only

Our target: Warm up first, every time: the FIFA 11+ warm-up from 14 (the FIFA 11+ Kids warm-up for ages 7-13), about 15-20 minutes, or your club warm-up, before any speed, agility, conditioning or strength work and before every self-test (the Football Reach plan rule). FIFA asks for the 11+ at least twice a week.

Harder / Easier

Harder

Move to level 2, then level 3 (both on the FIFA 11+ poster), only when you do every level 1 exercise correctly (our rule of thumb).

Easier

New to it: stay on level 1, hold the plank for 20 s (the short end of FIFA's range) and learn Part 2 one exercise at a time. Under 14: use FIFA 11+ Kids instead, FIFA's warm-up for ages 7-13 (7 exercises, 5 levels, about 15-20 minutes).

Safety

  • Flat, dry grass with open space around you, never a road or pavement.
  • Under 16: if your knees or heels hurt when you run or jump, stop and tell an adult. Knee and heel pain is common while you are growing, and a GP or physio can help.
  • Under 18: do the strength and jump exercises with a coach or parent watching.
  • Stop any exercise that hurts rather than training through it, and get it checked by a GP or physio.

Sources

Not sure which skill to work on first? The free Football Reach test gives you a Player Development Score and shows which of the four corners of your game to work on next, in about two minutes.

Take the free test
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