OBJECTIVES: To compare the effect of a newly conceived daily injury prevention programme with FIFA11plus on injury incidence and severity in academy football players. DESIGN: Randomised controlled trial. SETTING: Football academy. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-three male academy football players were randomly assigned to either the control group (FIFA11plus or FIFA11plus Kids) or the intervention group (new injury prevention programme). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury incidence rate (per 1000 hours) and severity (days lost). RESULTS: Over 6 months, the control group recorded 45 injuries (incidence rate 9.07/1000 hours), while the intervention group recorded 50 injuries (incidence rate 10.10/1000 hours). The median number of days lost was 16 (95% confidence interval 11 to 27) in the control group and 15 (95% confidence interval 7 to 23) in the intervention group. No significant differences were found in injury incidence or severity between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The newly conceived injury prevention programme was as effective as the FIFA11plus in reducing injury incidence and severity, thus representing an easy-to-implement injury prevention programme for football academies. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12623000359639) retrospectively, as it was initially conducted for academic purposes, negating the requirement for prospective registration.

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