1.2 The team 
physician in football
1.2.1 
The roles of the team physician 
in football
In football teams, either national teams or club 
teams, there is a uniform organisational structure within 
which the coaching staff, administrative staff, medical 
team and players function.Illness management 
Footballers and other athletes suffer illnesses that 
occur commonly in the general population such as asthma, 
upper respiratory tract infections, skin rashes and diarrhoea.The roles of a TP mainly refer to eight 
broad activity fi elds:
- Injury management 
- Illness management
- Prevention of injury and illness
- Emergency care
- Acclimatisation issues: jet lag, heat and humidity, altitude
- Anti-doping issues including prevention of doping 
infringements
- Optimising performance: nutrition, hydration, screening 
for overtraining of players
- Counselling players and staff
Injury management
One of the major roles of a TP is to determine that 
a player is injured, accurately diagnose the complaint and 
institute treatment.Medical teams in different 
leagues form a continuum, with the simplest form 
consisting of a resident physiotherapist working with 
a consulting doctor acting as a TP. In more advanced 
forms, a medical team consists of a resident TP with 
physiotherapists, trainers, masseurs, a nutritionist and a 
podiatrist.In the absence of an elaborate medical team, 
the TP would have to perform numerous tasks, e.g. advise 
players on nutrition including meal selection and assist 
in some cases with physiotherapy and ankle strapping, 
especially when on tour.Injuries and 
illnesses that occur beyond the expertise of the doctor 
should be referred to a suitable specialist and a referral 
network should be established both at home and when the 
team is travelling.He is 
also responsible for declaring that the injured player has 
recovered and is suffi ciently well to resume full training after 
undergoing rehabilitation.The TP advises the coach about the health status of 
the players and makes the fi nal decision with respect to 
the players' eligibility for competitive football.Diagnosis may rely on the use of 
clinical acumen in simple injuries but sometimes complex 
imagining is required for more complicated ones.