Assessment of Vaccination Status in Professional Football Players in Low Categories in Greece

Background: There are limited data on the vaccination practices of footballers in low professional categories in Greece and Europe. The aim of this study was to investigate the vaccination practices followed by the medical staff of the low professional football categories in Central Greece.

Methods: A questionnaire was developed and included questions on the vaccination practices of football players. The participants were chief medical officers of the fifteen low-category football teams in Central Greece. Overall, 10 out of 15 chief medical officers participated (response rate: 67%).

Results: All participants recommended only the tetanus monovalent vaccine in cases with deep trauma of athletes. Influenza, pneumococcal vaccine, and Hepatitis A and B vaccines were not recommended by the medical officers. This was also the case for measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine and meningococcal vaccine with strains A, C, Y, W. Participants reported the lack of specific guidelines for vaccination in professional footballers.

Conclusions: The recent study showed poor vaccination practices in low categories of professional football teams in Central Greece. The qualitative view of the respondents revealed the importance of the absence of guidelines on vaccination of football players.