Andy Fuller, BUAFL Chief Executive and Dr. Elesa Argent, BUAFL Head of Research and Development today announced that the BUAFL would be establishing a Sports Science and Medical Commission.
"I am delighted to announce this important milestone in the BUAFL's development" said Fuller.
"Going forward the Commission will serve to fulfill multiple functions. Through a programme of research and development they will look at disseminating knowledge to our athletes, coaches and administrators ensuring that they are aware of best practice in the disciplines of sports science including nutrition, psychology, physiology.
"Crucially, the Commission will undertake valuable work in the field of football injuries, establishing what the prevalence of certain types is within university football and how we can work to minimise the risk".
Fuller added "The BUAFL feel that we have three people starting the Commission whose knowledge base and skills will set the agenda for a high quality programme of work in the next few years.
"In Philip Hume we have a someone with a great medical background and both a real interest and history in football.
In Brett Rosenbaum and Sharif Omar we have two people with strong academic backgrounds in sports science who can share the knowledge they have built up over time with colleagues in the football community."
Dr. Argent, BUAFL Head of Research and Development, welcomed the appointments and said "The BUAFL is committed to supporting our athletes and coaches and one of the ways in which we can look to do this is by giving them access to up-to-date sports science information to guide their behaviours. Equally, if we can establish a thorough research programme into injuries then we can work to identify if there are steps we can take to reduce their risk.
"I fully anticipate much of the work done in the forthcoming months will be focused upon research and development. We need to establish what information we need from teams, what information teams need from us and the best mechanisms to capture and disseminate this respectively".
Dr Argent concluded "I look forward to working with them going forward".