Setting the research agenda for Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) women’s football: stakeholder perspectives

Despite the increasing global interest in women's football research, relatively less attention has been devoted to African women's football. Where research is conducted, the agenda tends to be driven by researchers usually without input from football stakeholders. Hence, research priorities may not reflect the needs of football stakeholders or address the real problems they face. Utilising the stakeholder theory framework, this cross-sectional study established self-reported medical and performance research priorities of stakeholders in women's football in the Council of Southern Africa Football Associations (COSAFA) region. A self-administered questionnaire ranking 17 areas of research was administered to women football players (≥18 years old), and their support personnel (e.g., coaches, medical personnel, administrators) participating in the 2022 TOTAL Energies CAF Women's Champions League (CAFWCL) COSAFA Qualifiers and 2022 COSAFA Women's Championship. One hundred and forty-one (n = 141) respondents from 10 countries participated. The top five research areas considered to be highly relevant to women's football in the COSAFA region were: (1) developing youth players (n = 115; 82%) (2), optimising physical conditioning (n = 112; 79%) (3), understanding female related health issues (n = 107; 76%) (4), improving technical skills (n = 106; 75%) (5), how to come back stronger after injury (n = 106;75%). Given a hypothetical USD $1 million research fund, stakeholders would prioritise (1) development of youth players (n = 70; 17%) (2), improvement of technical skills (n = 68; 16%), and (3) injury prevention (n = 33; 8%) as their top three areas for research focus. Identifying stakeholders' research priorities is important as this can inform research directions and funding priorities in African women's football.