Introduction The Swedish Knee Control Program (KCP) was systematically implemented nationwide by the Swedish Football Association (FA) after being found efficacious to prevent ACL injuries in youth female football players. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the KCP in reducing acute knee and cruciate ligament (CL) injuries at a national level.

Materials and methods National insurance data from the insurance company covering all licensed football players in Sweden included more than 17 500 knee injuries, reported to the insurance company between 2006 and 2015. By matching the number of licensed players with the number of reported injuries each year, the annual knee and CL injury incidence was calculated. To evaluate the spread of KCP countrywide, a questionnaire was sent to all 24 district FAs with questions regarding KCP education and workshops. The number of downloads of the KCP mobile App. was also calculated.

Result Between 46%–79% of the district FAs had performed KCP educations/workshops each year, and there were 1 01 236 downloads of the KCP App, during the study period. When comparing the injury incidence before and after the nationwide implementation, there was a decreased in CL injuries with 7% in males and 14% in females. Knee injury incidence decreased with 8% in males and 21% in females. The decrease corresponds to a reduction of 100 CL injuries each year.

Conclusion The Swedish KCP is implemented nationwide and the incidence of knee and CL injuries have decreased in both sexes, at a national level.