Benchwarmers: Mitigating soft tissue injuries for local players

Australian sportswear company Benchwarmers are targeting the issue of soft tissue injuries through their innovative product.

The company estimates that hamstring strain injuries account for 12-16% of all injuries in English, Australian and New Zealand professional Football. A key component of this can come from a players’ time on the bench.

Traditionally played as a winter sport, amateur soccer players are at risk of injury in cold conditions.

Speaking to product creator Andrew Lauder, the body length sportswear came about from noticing an increase in hamstring injuries at local level.

“We noticed kids and adults going out with hamstrings,” Lauder told Soccerscne.

“They’re sitting on these cold benches that are on parks everywhere, and they don’t really warm up. They just go out on the field and then they’ve pulled up with a hamstring.

“Two and two doesn’t take rocket science to figure out – sitting and cooling those muscles down and then using them straight away is fraught with danger.”

A custom designed Benchwarmer.

Designed for local and amateur players, Lauder wants to mitigate the risk associated at those levels. While elite athletes have access to the best medical staff, he doesn’t want to see younger players at risk.

“At amateur and junior level, we don’t have proper medical staff or people that understand body mechanisms, and they just send the kids or amateurs out,” Lauder continued.

“That’s when it pulls them all out. Benchwarmers is more just to say, ‘hey keep them warm’. A lot of them throw a hoodie on, but the legs and everything are still exposed.

“The main things that they are using all the time are the calves, quads and the hamstrings. We found it to be a very important thing.

“In junior and amateur level, when some of these guys and girls get hurt, they go into shock. They put them on the bench and have one of the medical staff looking at them who’s not really experienced, they might be a parent who’s done a course.”

Being custom-made, Benchwarmers offer a ultra-lightweight solution that includes insulated inside pockets, a hood, resistance to water and wind, and fully fleeced lining for extra warmth.

Avondale FC and LALIGA collaborate to focus on football excellence

Avondale Football Group (AFG) and LALIGA have made their arrangements official through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to enhance the game through a mutual alliance by undertaking to focus on football excellence.

Playing their home matches at Avenger Park in Parkville, Avondale FC are the current champions of NPL Victoria as well as they were recently selected alongside seven other clubs to be the foundation club for the National Second Tier which is likely to commence from 2025.

Ivan Codina, Managing Director of LALIGA for Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and Australia, said via press release:

“We are thrilled to embark on this exciting journey with Avondale FC to elevate football development at this crucial moment in their history in Australian professional football, taking advantage of the experience we have after more than 90 years leading professional football in Spain, and more specifically in the six years that LALIGA has been in the country.

“This MOU signifies our commitment to the football development beyond Spanish barriers through knowledge sharing and collaboration with regional partners.”

Avondale President Anthony Wardan reflected on the sides progression as a National Second Tier member, adding via press release:

“Following a historic season including recently being announced as a National Second Tier Foundation Club, we are extremely pleased to continue our growth by announcing a new partnership with LALIGA.

“LALIGA’s unparalleled expertise and extensive networks will enhance our capabilities on and off the field, nurture young Australian talent, and make a positive contribution to the growth of football in Australia.”

The goal of this partnership being through bilateral relations, the MOU will augment the flow of proficiency and mastery from LALIGA in what is the largest football ecosystem in the world implemented into the Australian club.

Both parties will work diligently towards the greater good of increasing football involvement and developing the youth programs and pathways for aspiring boys and girls across the state.

Serie A to stay on DAZN and Sky screens to 2029

DAZN and Sky will retain the rights to broadcast live Serie A matches in Italy for the next five seasons after Italian clubs accepted bids worth at least 4.5 billion euros ($4.8 billion).

After four months of discussions, the Serie A teams convened to examine final bids from streaming services DAZN and Sky, which totalled around 900 million euros each year until the conclusion of the 2028/2029 season, barely below the existing agreement’s yearly worth.

Seventeen of the 20 clubs backed the offer but the decision drew sharp criticism from Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis.

“It’s a total defeat for Italian football, these deals will be the death of Italian football. The problem is being a borrower or an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur must know how to measure the risk area, it is more convenient but this will never implement the value of Italian football”, he stated via press release.

Serie A earns around 930 million euros every season from the sale of its TV rights in Italy under a three-year contract that expires next June, with DAZN once again taking the lion’s share. DAZN will exclusively carry seven Serie A games each week (266 out of 380 matches per season). The remaining three will be carried by DAZN and Sky (114 matches per season).

In recent months, Serie A explored the creation of a media platform to distribute matches to other TV outlets as well as the launch of a home-run live video subscription service.

Torino chairman Urbano Cairo was all for the deal claiming the league was correct to continue the partnership.

“Figures were below our initial expectations and below our current contracts, but I think we were right to continue our relationship with Sky and DAZN. Creating a Serie A TV channel now, would had meant adding further risk to a risky business he stated via press release,” he told reporters.

When some variable components tied to revenue sharing are included, the new contracts may match or even exceed the value of the present contracts and reach 1 billion euros.

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