SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMME 2027
DAY 1 - SATURDAY, 24th APRIL 2027
The main programme will be held in four large spaces: Leonardo, Michelangelo, Galileo, Raffaello. It will be divided in Traditional Sessions, Open Debates and Next Generation Leaders according to the following colour codes.
Traditional Sessions
Open Debates
Next Generation Leaders
LEONARDO
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Leonardo
Reach the top in Football Medicine
Chairs: Della Villa S (ITA), Espregueira Mendes J (POR)
| 09:30 | From FIFA World Cup to the daily practice: what we can translate to reach the top | Massey A (SUI) |
| 09:45 | The renaissance of Sports Medicine: navigating the present looking to the future | Saris D (USA) |
| 10:00 | The evolution of performance-enhancing football surgeries | D'Hooghe P (UK) |
| 10:15 | The ultimate challenge to reach the top in Football Medicine | Della Villa F (ITA) |
| 10:30 | All the way to the top: the constant growth of female Football Medicine | Verhagen E (SUI) |
| 10:45 | Discussion | |
| 11:00 | End of the session |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Leonardo
Hamstrings: stronger, faster, smarter
Chairs: Bittencourt N (BRA), Haddad F (UK)
| 11:30 | What doesn't kill you makes you stronger | Van Dyk N (IRL) |
| 11:45 | The ideal management of complex hamstring injuries in professional football | Rodas G (ESP) |
| 12:00 | When surgery is the smart choice (and when it is not) | Devitt B (IRL) |
| 12:15 | Can hamstring surgery become performance medicine? | Lempainen L (FIN) |
| 12:30 | From hamstring injuries to a top performance at the World Cup | Olmo J (UK) |
| 12:45 | Discussion | |
| 13:00 | End of the session |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Leonardo
The footballer's knee: challenges & best solutions
Chairs: Gobbi A (ITA), Musahl V (USA)
| 14:30 | Knee morphology and rotational patterns in football knee injuries | Espregueira Mendes J (POR) |
| 14:45 | Beyond biomechanics: how can we improve the outcomes of knee surgery? | Cavaignac E (FRA) |
| 15:00 | Is adding an LET to ACLR always suggested in football players? | Randelli P (ITA) |
| 15:15 | The complex management of MCL injuries: from patterns to surgery | Williams A (UK) |
| 15:30 | Reach the top after knee injury: a path back to performance | Hamrin-Senorski E (SWE) |
| 15:45 | Discussion | |
| 16:00 | End of the session |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Leonardo
Reach the top for the big five football ankle injuries
Chairs: d'Hooghe P (UK), Vannini F (ITA)
| 16:30 | All stress fractures in athletes are, in fact, strain fractures: a new perspective with consequences for prevention and treatment | Van Dijk N (NED) |
| 16:45 | Reaching the top on a stable ankle: from injury to return to elite football | Kerkhoffs G (NED) |
| 17:00 | The challenging management of cartilage injuries in professional players | Calder J (UK) |
| 17:15 | Integrating ankle neuromuscular profiling to reach the top | Compagnin A (UK) |
| 17:30 | Managing Achilles tendinopathy in top sports environments | Griffin C (IRL) |
| 17:45 | Discussion | |
| 18:00 | End of the session |
MICHELANGELO
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Michelangelo
FIFA SESSION - What we’ve learned from the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Chairs: Grimm K (SUI), Massey A (SUI)
| 11:30 | 3 countries. 48 teams. 148 providers. 1 standard. Ambition or impossibility? | Grimm K (SUI) |
| 11:45 | More than 90 minutes: the role of a FIFA match doctor in supporting teams | Oommen G (UK) |
| 12:00 | Spot on: protecting players at the FIFA World Cup | Peek K (SUI) |
| 12:15 | From preparation to World Cup victory: managing player health and recovery | Vazquez C (ESP) |
| 12:30 | From match events to injury insights: discovering patterns with AI | Serner A (SUI) |
| 12:45 | Discussion | |
| 13:00 | End of the session |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Michelangelo
FIFA session - Maximising the value of health surveillance for football
Chairs: Clarsen B (SUI), Mkumbuzi N (UK)
| 13:30 | Global player health surveillance update | Clarsen B (SUI) |
| 13:40 | FIFA Tournament surveillance update | Mkumbuzi N (UK) |
| 13:50 | Panel discussion | Davison M (UK), Genovesi F (UK), Wilson B (SUI) |
| 14:30 | End of the session |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Michelangelo
Accelerated rehabilitation after hamstring surgery
14:30 - 15:15
| CHAIR | Devitt B (IRL) |
| PRESENTER | Return to performance approach in top level athletes - D'Alessandro P (AUS) |
| DEBATERS | Glasgow P (IRL) |
| Mendiguchia J (ESP) | |
| Stride M (UK) |
The impact of rectus femoris injuries
15:15 - 16:00
| CHAIR | Devitt B (IRL) |
| PRESENTER | Are we getting professional players back to performance after surgery? - Haddad F (UK) |
| DEBATERS | Lempainen L (FIN) |
| Mazzoni S (ITA) | |
| Perticarini L (ITA) |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Michelangelo
MCL injuries: when to go surgical
16:30 - 17:15
| CHAIR | Reider B (USA) |
| PRESENTER | Managing isolated collateral ligament injuries in football players - Williams R (USA) |
| DEBATERS | Eirale C (QAT) |
| Grassi A (ITA) | |
| Samuelsson K (SWE) |
Acute meniscus injury in-season: what now?
17:15 - 18:00
| CHAIR | Reider B (USA) |
| PRESENTER | Meniscus tears in professional footballers: resect or repair? - Hantes M (GRE) |
| DEBATERS | Getgood A (UK) |
| Melegati G (ITA) | |
| Zanon G (ITA) |
GALILEO
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Galileo
Winning after ACL: the road back to performance
Chairs: Denti M (ITA), Knowles B (USA)
| 11:30 | Reach the top in ACL surgery: weighting tibial slope and static ATT | Dejour D (FRA) |
| 11:45 | Reach the top in ACL rehabilitation for football players | Buckthorpe M (UK) |
| The 5 best Free Communication Abstracts on ACL will be included in this session | ||
| 12:50 | Discussion | |
| 13:00 | End of the session | |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Galileo
ESSKA session - Optimising our approach to knee injuries
Chairs: Koukoulias N (GRE), Patt T (NED)
| 13:30 | ACL reconstruction and return to football: are we really moving forward? | Eriksson K (SWE) |
| 13:42 | The formal ESSKA-AOSSM-AASPT ACL rehabilitation consensus | Prill R (GER) |
| 13:54 | Harmonized outcomes - better results in ACL rehabilitation studies | Hamrin-Senorski E (SWE) |
| 14:06 | Reach the top for ACL and MCL combined injuries | Samuelsson K (SWE) |
| 14:18 | Discussion | |
| 14:30 | End of the session |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Galileo
Practical application of biomechanics for injury prevention
Chairs: Bahr R (NOR), Pereira R (POR)
| 14:30 | Key principles of corrective biomechanics to reduce knee injuries | Powers C (USA) |
| 14:45 | Integrating biomechanics in professional sports environments | Metsavaht L (BRA) |
| The 5 best Free Communication Abstracts on Biomechanics will be selected and included in this session | ||
| 15:50 | Discussion | |
| 16:00 | End of the session | |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Galileo
Orthobiologics: are we moving forward?
Chairs: De Girolamo L (ITA), Guillen P (ESP), Screpis D (ITA)
| 16:30 | The current use of PRP in football medicine: is there a consensus? | Laver L (ISR) |
| 16:45 | Beyond PRP: the new frontiers of orthobiologics | Di Matteo B (ITA) |
| The 5 best Free Communication Abstracts on Orthobiologics will be selected and included in this session | ||
| 17:50 | Discussion | |
| 18:00 | End of the session | |
RAFFAELLO
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Raffaello
The shoulder in football: small joint, big impact
Chairs: Axe M (USA), Lisai A (ITA)
| 11:30 | The beautiful nature of the shoulder complex | Di Giacomo G (ITA) |
| 11:45 | The goalkeeper's shoulder: a position-specific clinical approach | Porcellini G (ITA) |
| 12:00 | Surgical solutions for shoulder stabilisation in professional players | Castagna A (ITA) |
| 12:15 | Successful rehabilitation of traumatic shoulder instability: more than strengthening | Wilk K (USA) |
| 12:30 | Complete functional recovery after shoulder injuries in football players | Orlando A (ITA) |
| 12:45 | Discussion | |
| 13:00 | End of the session |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Raffaello
How to excel in dealing with syndesmosis injuries
Chairs: Martinelli N (ITA), Van Dijk P (NED)
| 14:30 | The fascinating anatomy of the syndesmosis as part of the ankle complex | Dalmau Pastor M (ESP) |
| 14:45 | How to classify and manage high ankle sprains in football players | Guelfi M (ITA) |
| 15:00 | Syndesmosis injuries in athletes: when to go surgical | Gianakos A (USA) |
| 15:15 | Back to the top: a new approach to syndesmotic stabilisation in elite athletes | Lopes R (FRA) |
| 15:30 | An ideal path to return to performance after high ankle sprain | d'Orsi G (ITA) |
| 15:45 | Discussion | |
| 16:00 | End of the session |
DAY 1 - SATURDAY Raffaello
Motor learning applications in Football Medicine
Chairs: Bizzini M (SUI), Fink C (AUT)
| 16:30 | From motor learning theory to Football Medicine: why the “How” matters | Benjaminse A (NED) |
| 16:45 | Harnessing neuroplasticity after injury: motor learning for injury prevention and rehabilitation | Grooms D (USA) |
| 17:00 | Brain-muscle connection: linking neural adaptations to recovery after knee injury | Lepley A (USA) |
| 17:15 | The brain in motion: integrating neurocognition into injury prevention and rehabilitation | Gokeler A (GER) |
| 17:30 | Beyond the cue: integrating cognitive-motor challenges into injury prevention | Silvers H (USA) |
| 17:45 | Discussion | |
| 18:00 | End of the session |