Finnish Youth Footballers' Perceptions on Artificial Turf: A Survey Research.

Background and Aims: There is no evidence of increased overall injury risk on modern artificial surfaces in football. However, football players have generally considered artificial surface to increase injury risk compared to natural grass. Earlier studies about football players' perceptions on playing surfaces have been conducted using adults who primarily play on natural grass. This study aimed to examine Finnish youth players' perceptions on artificial turf. Methods: An online questionnaire form was sent to three Finnish clubs (Mikkelin Palloilijat, FC Inter Turku and Vantaan Jalkapalloseura). The questionnaire consisted of players' basic information and ten multiple-choice questions. Questions considered both injuries and players' preferences on artificial turf and natural grass. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations) were calculated. Differences in proportions were tested using a two-proportion Z-test. Results: A total of 136 youth players (11-20 years old) answered the questionnaire. Most respondents played football primarily on artificial turf. Nearly half of the respondents agreed that injuries are more common on artificial turf compared to natural grass. Of 11-15-year-olds, 58% agreed with this statement while only 19% of 16-20-year-olds agreed (z = 3.19, p = 0.001). Over a half of the respondents assessed knee injuries and overuse injuries to happen more likely on artificial turf. More respondents favored natural grass as a primary match surface but there was no difference in preference considering training surface. Conclusion: Finnish youth football players consider injury risk to increase on artificial turf. Based on our study, this opinion is related to players' age. Many perceptions on artificial turf were relatively positive compared to previous studies, which could be explained with the familiarity of the surface among the respondents.