# Management of radiology services during the 2022 FIFA football (soccer) World Cup

## TL;DR

This paper describes how radiology services were managed during the 2022 FIFA World Cup to assess and treat athlete injuries efficiently.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a centralized framework for radiological services in international sports events with multilingual communication tools.

## Key findings

- A centralized medical infrastructure was successfully implemented for radiology services during the event.
- Multilingual audiovisual reports improved communication with team physicians.
- The framework can be replicated for other international sports events.

## Abstract

Diagnostic imaging is the predominant medical service sought for the assessment and staging of musculoskeletal injuries in professional sports events. During the 2022 FIFA Football (soccer) World Cup, a centralized medical care infrastructure was established. This article provides a comprehensive account of the radiological services implemented during this event, encompassing the deployment of equipment and human resources, the structuring of workflows to uphold athlete confidentiality, and initiatives aimed at enhancing communication. Communication channels were refined through radiology consultations held with national teams’ health care providers and the adoption of audiovisual reports available in multiple languages, which could be accessed remotely by team physicians. Our established framework can be replicated in international professional football events for seamless integration and efficacy.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00256-023-04486-2.