While F-MARC´s major focus is on injury prevention, the first step had to be the establishment of the frequency and characteristics of injury in football. Therefore, F-MARC initially carefully reviewed the existent medical literature on injuries in football and identified areas where more research was needed.

Consequently, leading experts were convoked to establish a scientific consensus on the definition of injury in order to allow for the comparison of study results. Based on this definition, F-MARC investigated football injuries in elite players at FIFA competitions on one hand and on the other hand in players of different gender, age and skill levels throughout the whole season.

This led to the development and implementation of an injury reporting system particularly considering the specific conditions at FIFA competitions. Meanwhile, these reports have become a matter of routine for the team physicians from all over the world. In order to assess the specifics and the differences of injuries in different sports, further studies followed comparing football with other team sports.

In appreciation of the insight provided by the results, the F-MARC reporting system will be established for all events including individual sports at the Olympic Games 2008.