The FIFA 11+ warm-up explained

The FIFA 11+ was developed by an international group of experts and is published free by FIFA FIFA 11+. It replaces the jog-and-stretch routine most teams still do with a structured warm-up that also trains strength, balance and landing control. You can find the official FIFA 11+ programme on the FIFA Medical Network, with videos of every exercise.

The three parts

Part 1: running exercises (about 8 minutes)

Slow-paced running drills between two lines of cones about 20 m apart: straight ahead, hip out, hip in, circling a partner, shoulder contact with a partner, and quick forward and backward runs. They raise your heart rate and get the hips and groin moving.

Part 2: strength, plyometrics and balance (about 10 minutes)

Six exercises, each with three levels:

• The bench (front plank), from a simple hold to alternating leg lifts.
• Sideways bench (side plank), from a bent-knee hold to leg raises.
• Hamstrings, a Nordic-style lowering with a partner holding your ankles, from 3–5 reps up to 12–15.
• Single-leg stance, from holding a ball to testing your balance with a partner.
• Squats, from toe raises to walking lunges and single-leg squats.
• Jumping, from vertical jumps to lateral and box jumps, landing softly with the knee over the toes.

Part 3: running exercises (about 2 minutes)

Faster running across the pitch, bounding, and plant-and-cut drills that prepare you for match intensity.

What the studies found

A meta-analysis of FIFA 11+ trials found an injury rate ratio of 0.61 in recreational and sub-elite players, meaning about 39% fewer injuries in teams that used it Thorborg et al. 2017. A trial in male college players found fewer injuries and less time lost Silvers-Granelli et al. 2015. An earlier cluster-randomised trial of a comprehensive warm-up in young female players also found fewer injuries Soligard et al. 2008.

Female players are worth a special mention. Programmes including balance and landing work were linked with fewer knee injuries, including ACL injuries, in female players Waldén et al. 2012 Su et al. 2025. The knee-control parts of the warm-up are especially worth doing well.

These are group results: fewer injuries across teams over a season. Nobody can promise any individual that a warm-up will stop them getting injured. But for 20 minutes and no kit, the evidence is about as good as it gets in sports medicine.

How often

The programme was designed to be done at least twice a week FIFA 11+. Adherence matters: in youth female players, teams that did it more often had fewer injuries Steffen et al. 2013, and a 2026 study backed up the link between adherence and injury outcomes Zarei et al. 2026. No proven minimum exists for adult men, so twice a week is a sensible target. For most grassroots players that means before club training and before matches.

Before matches

FIFA’s guidance is to use parts 1 and 3 before matches and the full routine at training FIFA 11+. In practice, many grassroots teams do a short version of part 2 before games as well. Avoid the high-rep hamstring exercise right before kick-off, as it temporarily reduces hamstring strength Marshall et al. 2015.

Getting a team to actually do it

The biggest problem with the FIFA 11+ isn’t the exercises; it’s that teams start it in August and give up by October. A few things help:

• Make it the default. Same order, same cones, every session. It quickly becomes the normal start to training.
• Move up the levels. Players get bored at level 1. Level 2 by October and level 3 for strong players keeps it a challenge.
• Lead from the front. If the coach or captain runs it, players do it.
• Keep it to 20 minutes. It’s a warm-up, not a session.

Moving up the levels

Each strength exercise has a beginner, intermediate and advanced level. Players should only move up when they can do the current level with good control: knees tracking over the toes on landings, a straight body line in the planks, and slow lowering on the hamstring exercise. Most adult amateur teams can start at level 1 in pre-season and reach level 2 within a few weeks.

How Match Ready: Football uses it

The app’s default warm-up is our own, built on the same components and dose as the FIFA 11+: running drills, the six strength, jumping and balance exercises at three levels, then faster running, about 20 minutes. In studies, teams that regularly did the FIFA 11+ warm-up had fewer injuries. Ours uses the same parts and dose, but the results belong to the official programme, not our version.

The app counts your warm-ups each week and nudges you if you drop below two. App gym sessions use a shorter 8–10 minute warm-up, which also counts. There’s a one-screen coach card you can show your club coach if your team doesn’t warm up this way yet.

If you do one thing from this site, do a proper warm-up. Then add the Nordic hamstring curl and the Copenhagen adductor exercise.