On Wednesday the NWSL Players Association and the league confirmed their entry into Project ACL, a three‑year study aimed at cutting anterior cruciate ligament tears among professional women footballers. The initiative, which kicks off in June, will collect anonymized data on workload, travel and injury patterns, then analyze it to pinpoint preventive measures. Project ACL marks the first cross‑league effort of its kind.

Tori Huster, deputy executive director of the NWSLPA and former player, praised the collaboration, noting that injury risk extends beyond individual biomechanics to daily training and competition conditions. Partners include Nike, Leeds Beckett University and the global players’ union FIFPRO, which will steer overall guidance. The partnership also aims to benchmark best practices internationally. Researchers hope the findings will inform league scheduling and conditioning protocols.

The study arrives as only about 8 % of sports research focuses on women, most of it on amateurs, leaving a gap for elite athletes. By pooling data from the NWSL and England’s Women’s Super League, Project ACL seeks to generate player‑centric evidence that could reshape medical and training standards across the sport. Early results could already influence injury‑prevention strategies.