FIFA to increase medical screenings following on-pitch deaths

FIFA is considering an overhaul on its medical screening system in the wake of Antonio Puerta's death, while UEFA is bringing more medical equipment on site.

The 22-year old Spanish Sevilla midfielder collapsed during a match, got off the pitch under his own power and collapsed again in the locker room from a heart attack. He died three days later.

FIFA said the expansion of medical screening would be discussed at its next executive committee meeting in October.

"We set a new standard ahead of the 2006 World Cup with state-of-the-art tests for all players including electro- and echocardiograms," said FIFA chief medical officer Jiri Dvorak told Reuters following the Puerta's death. "We are still in the final stages of analysing all the data but I assume the medical committee will recommend making such tests mandatory at all levels, not just for the senior men's tournaments but for women's and junior football too."

No matter how tight the screening, Dvorak acknowledged that some cases will get past intense screening. Sevilla said it had undergone rigorous health tests and pre-season evaluations, and nothing showed up.

Puerta's case might not have been caught by advanced screening. The hospital he was taken to said the attack was a result of a weakness in the right ventricle of the heart either because of a congenital problem or because cells had been replaced by fat or scar tissue.

But Puerta's was not the only recent death on the pitch. One day after Puerta's death, Zambian striker Chaswe Nsofwa died after a training session with Israeli Hapoel Beer Sheva. A 16-year-old trainee at English Walsall died last week after suffering a similar collapse in training.

"UEFA has also broken new ground in recently requiring all clubs involved in European competition to carry out annual medical checks on its players, including cardiology tests," read a statement from UEFA. "It is also planned for the 2008 European Championships that all players will have had to have had an echocardiogram within the past three years."

Source: euFootball.BIZ © Copyright 2006 - All rights reserved.