ALL FOOTBALLERS playing outside the AFL and AFLW competitions will have to wait 21 days after suffering a concussion before returning to play, under new protocols announced by the AFL.
The existing minimum of 12 days on the sidelines after being concussed will continue to operate for AFL and AFLW players.
The new protocol will operate in all other Australian football competitions, including the VFL and VFLW, Coates Talent Leagues and all community football competitions for senior and junior players.
STATEMENT THE AFL'S 2024 CONCUSSION PROTOCOLS
The AFL said it would work with all leagues and governing bodies, including the WAFL and SANFL, to encourage the new protocols to be adopted in all football matches outside the elite men's and women's competitions.
The League said the "advanced care settings" and increased medical oversight for concussed AFL and AFLW players would allow them to continue with the three-stage, 11-step return to play protocols - with a mandatory minimum absence of 12 days - that have operated since the 2021 season.
Those protocols will apply even if AFL- and AFLW-listed players are concussed at state-league level.
The AFL's updated protocols for community football are in line with the Australian Institute of Sport's Concussion and Brain Health Position Statement released earlier this year, which recommended a minimum of 21 days before returning to play after concussion.
The existing minimum of 12 days on the sidelines after being concussed will continue to operate for AFL and AFLW players.
The new protocol will operate in all other Australian football competitions, including the VFL and VFLW, Coates Talent Leagues and all community football competitions for senior and junior players.
STATEMENT THE AFL'S 2024 CONCUSSION PROTOCOLS
The AFL said it would work with all leagues and governing bodies, including the WAFL and SANFL, to encourage the new protocols to be adopted in all football matches outside the elite men's and women's competitions.
The League said the "advanced care settings" and increased medical oversight for concussed AFL and AFLW players would allow them to continue with the three-stage, 11-step return to play protocols - with a mandatory minimum absence of 12 days - that have operated since the 2021 season.
Those protocols will apply even if AFL- and AFLW-listed players are concussed at state-league level.
The AFL's updated protocols for community football are in line with the Australian Institute of Sport's Concussion and Brain Health Position Statement released earlier this year, which recommended a minimum of 21 days before returning to play after concussion.
