Observational studyBritish journal of sports medicine2021
Successful return to professional men's football (soccer) competition after the COVID-19 shutdown: a cohort study in the German Bundesliga.
Observational study in British journal of sports medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 62 papers.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
62 citing papers in PubMed.
- Trial
- COACH Study: COVID-19 Influence on Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Athletes-A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- One Step Further: Integrating Evidence-Based Guidelines into Practice to Address Environmental Challenges at the Men's 2026 FIFA World Cup.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- National health registries in professional German football: development and first results from the men's and women's 1st and 2nd Bundesliga.BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · 2026Article
- Return-to-Play Timeline and Recovery Predictors After COVID-19 Infection in Elite Football Players.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- Implementing SARS-CoV-2 Testing during a Large-Scale Sporting Event in Africa: Lessons Learned from the Africa Football Cup of Nations Tournament in Cameroon.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2025Article
- Increased rate of injuries to the anterior cruciate ligament in amateur soccer players after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.Archives of orthopaedic and trauma surgery · 2024Article
- Incidence of respiratory infections and SARS-CoV-2 is higher during contact phases in student rugby players - Lessons learnt from COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies-AWARE V.Sports medicine and health science · 2024Article
- Impact of COVID-19 on football attacking players' match technical performance: a longitudinal study.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Use of a Health Monitoring System During a US Military Exercise During the COVID-19 Pandemic (April 2021): Participant Characteristics, Demographics and Differences in Participation.Journal of military and veterans' health · 2024Article
- Review
- Synchronization of passes in event and spatiotemporal soccer data.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Mitigating from COVID-19 during Intercollegiate Sports Match.Infection & chemotherapy · 2023Article
- Effectiveness of patient triage at the orthopedic hospital and the hygiene concept in a professional handball team in the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2023Review
- Considerations after lockdown and overcoming Covid-19: A systematic review for returning to safe physical exercise practice.Science & sports · 2023Review
- SARS-CoV-2 transmission in teenagers and young adults in Fútbol Club Barcelona's Multidisciplinary Sports Training Academy.European journal of pediatrics · 2023Observational
- Safety of International Professional Sports Competitions During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Association Football Experience.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2023Article
- Impact and control of the COVID pandemic in an elite sports club: Real Madrid.Revista espanola de quimioterapia : publicacion oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Quimioterapia · 2023Article
- Effect of two weeks of training cessation on concentric and eccentric knee muscle strength in highly trained sprinters.PloS one · 2023Article
- Cardiac changes in collegiate athletes following SARS-CoV-2 infection and quarantine: a prospective Case-Control study.Annals of medicine · 2023Article
2 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo evaluate the restart of the German Bundesliga (football (soccer)) during the COVID-19 pandemic from a medical perspective.
methodsParticipants were male professional football players from the two highest German leagues and the officials working closely with them. Our report covers nine match days spread over 9 weeks (May to July 2020). Daily symptom monitoring, PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA twice weekly, and antibody tests (on two occasions-early during the phase in May 2020 and in the week of the last match) were conducted. Target variables were: (1) onset of typical COVID-19 symptoms, (2) positive PCR results, and (3) IgG seroconversion against SARS-CoV-2. All detected seroconversions were controlled by neutralisation tests.
findingsSuspicious symptoms were reported for one player; an immediate additional PCR test as well as all subsequent diagnostic and antibody tests proved negative for coronavirus. Of 1702 regularly tested individuals (1079 players, 623 officials members), 8 players and 4 officials tested positive during one of the first rounds of PCR testing prior to the onset of team training, 2 players during the third round. No further positive results occurred during the remainder of the season. 694 players and 291 officials provided two serum samples for antibody testing. Nine players converted from negative/borderline to positive (without symptoms); two players who initially tested positive tested negative at the end of the season. 22 players remained seropositive throughout the season. None of the seroconversions was confirmed in the neutralisation test.
conclusionProfessional football training and matches can be carried out safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. This requires strict hygiene measures including regular PCR testing.
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Registered trials
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