2026-10-06T16:28:16Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34014594 2026-09-28T14:15:34Z category_31460 category_33959 category_37046 category_33752 category_31226 portal_2 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Supplementary information files for "Women's football across codes: A scoping review of sports science, medicine, and female-health research themes" Charlotte Steele (17671497) Natalia Galán López (14394417) Matt Simpson (17011863) Lee Taylor (2816005) Bryna Chrismas (17792624) Medical physiology Sports science and exercise Applied and developmental psychology Health sciences Clinical sciences Sports sciences Female Womens health Football codes Athletes Research gaps <p dir="ltr">Supplementary files for article "Women's football across codes: A scoping review of sports science, medicine, and female-health research themes"<br><br><b>Objective</b>s: To map the quantity, scope, distribution, and research focus of female-specific research across all major football codes (soccer, futsal, Gaelic football, rugby union, sevens and league, Australian rules football, and American football), including sport science and medicine topics, performance-related themes, and female health domains assessed.</p><p dir="ltr"><br></p><p dir="ltr"><b>Design</b>: Scoping review pre-registered with the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/t2gqd/).</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Methods</b>: Four databases were searched from inception to April 2025 using female health–related terms combined with football codes. Eligible sources included peer-reviewed research and female-specific National Governing Body (NGB) policy or strategy documents relating to competitive women's football (Tiers 2–5), including recently retired athletes, referees, and/or support staff. Female-specific NGB policy and strategy documents were obtained from governing body websites and through direct correspondence with continental and UK home-nation governing bodies. Pilot title/abstract (κ = 0.58) and full-text (κ = 0.80) screening were completed independently by two reviewers to calculate inter-rater agreement, with full-text then proceeding with single-reviewer screening. Data including population, geography, age group, and themes were synthesised in Excel and visualised in RStudio using multilevel content evaluation.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Results</b>: A total of 1425 publications (1385 studies; 40 policy/strategy documents) were included. Soccer dominated (80.6% of sport-category counts), followed by rugby union (4.3%) and Australian football (3.8%). Most involved Tier 3 (45.6%) and senior athletes (≥ 18 years; 48%). Underrepresented groups included youth (< 18 years; 17%), veterans/masters athletes (> 35 years; (1%), referees (1.9%), coaches (5.1%), and athletes with a disability (0.1%). Injury was the predominant theme (37.0%), whilst female health areas such as breast (0.5%), pelvic floor (0.5%), and menopause (0.1%) were scarce; menstrual cycle (MC) data were not reported in 69.0% of studies.</p><p dir="ltr"><b>Conclusions</b>: The evidence base remains fragmented, injury-focused, soccer-centric, and neglectful of key female health domains. Broader, cross-code, female-centred research agendas and targeted investment are essential to advance equity, performance, and athlete welfare.<br><br>© The Author(s), CC BY 4.0</p> 2026-08-01T00:00:00Z Dataset Dataset 10.17028/rd.lboro.34014594.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Supplementary_information_files_for_Women_s_football_across_codes_A_scoping_review_of_sports_science_medicine_and_female-health_research_themes_/34014594 CC BY 4.0