VIth World Congress on Science and Football, Book of Abstracts, January 16-20, 2007, Antalya, Turkey

Uniting Edson Arantes do Nascimento's (Pele's) "the beautiful game" with David Beckham's "bending the ball" (talented players apply the laws of physics to the ball) is the major motivation of the 6th.World Congress on Science and Football. From Chinese tsu chu to today's modern football games, science was and will be an important part of this excellent sport (http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0606/feature1/index.html).The congress encourages all scientific aspects of football including soccer (1848) including Australian rules (1866), Rugby (1845), American football (1876), Gaelic football (1884) and Canadian football (1882). Issues such as Biomechanics, Nutrition, Psychology, Academies, Talent identification, Medical aspects, Injuries, Special Population, Coaching, Physiology, Testing, Referee, Fair play, Hooliganism, Management, Economics and Skill learning will be discussed during this congress.Research is as significant as the coach, team and player in competition. Any player can aspire to become a superstar. Encouraging all participants and steak holders will take them to new places where no one has ever dreamt of. Are we close to these dreams? The answer to this question depends on what and how much we sacrifice for science and education. From science and education information should flow into the field. The decisive elements of the game are the referees, trainers, players and supporters. Their approach creates the "climate". They can end or start a war. Football is the sport that leads. It's no miracle but it promotes passion and love. If you are committed, you may even change the world. Football encompasses millions of players, coaches, scientists, administrators, physical education teachers, politicians and inevitably parents of young players. This "simple" game that requires a ball and a goal is not only the game of heroes but also of those who bear a childish enthusiasm that makes dreams come true. Skills include heading, tapping, passing and shooting but each of the football codes has its own unique skills. From Ronaldhinho's "elastico" (stretching an opponent one way and pass him on the other at top speed) to Zidane's "roulette" (360-degree turn at high-speed to dribble past an opponent) watching the game is more exciting than any other entertainment on the planet. The average number of viewers that watched the 2002 World Cup final exceeded 1.3 billion; the Superbowl final later this month and the Rugby Union World Cup in September 2007 will be watched live worldwide. Isn't there a passion involved; a passion that expands from the suburbs of Rio de Janeiro to the ivory league of the rich? Scientists cannot control all the variables involved but may measure the social, psychological and physical strength of the players. Still a trainer armed with information may go through the challenge with small and/or no losses.The profound beauty of football in any of its codes lies in the fact that football requires power, accuracy and coordination. Unlimited options are assessed, decisions are taken and action is conducted in less than seconds during the course of every game whether it is played in a street or in a stadium that holds hundred thousands. This is not only done by "the black antelopes" of Angola but also by children of age five to veteran adult players of 75 years. The scale of association football, for example, is evident in more than 200 nations; Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has 207 members as of 2006 whereas United Nations has 191 members: Involvement of a natural instinct!Preventing injuries by training is equally important as the Brazilian samba, the German and Japanese efficiency, the Italian defence and the English fast players. Social and psychological aspects are apparent at world cups, whether soccer, rugby league or rugby union. Besides those who stock their food and beverage at home throughout the month of games, many others can easily find a seat in their favourite restaurant if they wish to take the risk of the waiter pouring wine over them at the moment of a score. More likely is that food will accompany the wine when you are in a Mediterranean country or even in Australia. This supplement of abstracts of the 6th World Congress on Science and Football will hopefully serve as a creative and dynamic source of education and science for football. We would like to thank the Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (www.jssm.org) for making this dream come true. We also thank the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, Turkish Football Federation and Turkish Red Crescent Society Middle East Technical University Branch for their support to this congress. Being the symbol of unity, we agree with Mr. Gündüz Tekin Onay, who believes that we should all keep "the ball" close to our hearts. We hope to touch the future of football through science and education

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