Microbiota on football surfaces: providing fresh insights into football sports management

Football is one of the most popular, widely participated in, and age-spanning sports in the world. The role of scientific management in football is crucial for safeguarding the health of the athletes.However, There is limited understanding of the potential relationship between microbiota and athletes. This study employed 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to characterize the microbiota on football surfaces used by different user groups (schools of different grade levels.). The results indicate that there were no significant differences in the α-diversity of football surface microbiota among different groups, however, there were significant differences in β-diversity and microbial co-occurrence network patterns. Enterobacteriaceae spp and <i>Stenotrophomonas</i> were the designated microbial markers within the primary school (PS). The designated microbial markers in middle school (MS) were <i>Lactobacillus</i>, <i>Escherichia</i>, <i>Bacteroides</i>, and <i>Staphylococcus</i>. In university (UN), <i>Serratia</i> serve as the indicative microorganisms. Nursery school (NS) was characterized by <i>Pantoea</i> and <i>Exiguobacterium</i> as its microbial markers, while Acinetobacter was the designated microbial marker in residential quarters (RQ). These microbial markers are even opportunistic pathogens. Storage temperature, storage relative humidity, and the frequency of utilization will accelerate the reproduction of opportunistic human pathogens. This study suggests disinfection management for footballs.