Pakistan, April 24 -- The National Women's Soccer League and its players' union have joined Project ACL, a global initiative aimed at reducing the number of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in professional women's football.

The collaboration brings the US-based NWSL into a programme that was launched in England's Women's Super League two years ago in response to a call for more research into ACL tears, with women more than twice as likely to suffer the debilitating injury than men.

Project ACL seeks to better understand the multiple factors behind ACL injuries, with researchers saying there is limited evidence on how to reduce such injuries at the professional level, and women make up as little as 8% of sports science research.

The ...