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Medium-term Mortality of Dutch Professional Soccer Players

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Ruud H. Koning  and
Remko Amelink
Ruud H. Koning
Affiliation:
University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Remko Amelink
Affiliation:
University of Groningen, The Netherlands
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Abstract

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Professional athletes such as soccer players are expected to be in better health than the average member of their age cohort, if only because of the very demands imposed on them by their profession. Moreover, during their active career, their health is monitored on a regular basis. However, whenever a (former) well-known athlete dies, such an event is publicised widely. Perceived mortality among athletes may be distorted. In this article, we examine medium-term mortality of professional soccer players in The Netherlands. More specifically, we answer two questions. First, we examine if the mortality of soccer players is significantly different from mortality in the general population. Second, we assess whether mortality varies by team. We find that mortality among soccer players is significantly lower than in the general population, with no significant between teams variation. The methodology used in this article is easily extended to examine atypical mortality among other groups of athletes.

Keywords

Mortalityprofessional soccersplines
Type
Symposium
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 23 , Issue 2: Sport Economics , June 2012 , pp. 55 - 68
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2012

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