FMF and the Mexican Red Cross sign collaboration agreement

The Mexican Football Federation (FMF) and the Mexican Red Cross (MRC) signed a collaboration agreement today in an event held at the facilities of the High-Performance Center, with the presence of Yon de Luisa, president of the FMF, and Ignacio Cobián, national advisor of the MRC, representing the national president, Fernando Suinaga.

Also present at the event were Iñigo Riestra, general secretary of the FMF; José Antonio Monroy, general director of the Mexican Red Cross; Fernando Alarcón, head of Medical Services of the CAR and José Luis Serrano, doctor of the senior Mexican National Team.

The agreement, which will last for one year, aims at mutual collaboration to implement joint activities in training and awareness on health and sports issues.

In particular, the agreement includes promoting and supporting the training and specialization of referees and physiotherapists through courses and the organization and development of scientific and technological research projects.

"The practice of sports is not exempt from accidents that may occur and in this situation, the most important thing is to be trained to know how to react in an emergency because the prompt response, in first aid, to a football player or other person who is injured in a training or a match, will not only save his life but also significantly reduce the after-effects that the injuries may cause", said  Cobián.

He pointed out that 90 percent of accidents can be prevented, and considered that working with the Mexican Red Cross to identify risk situations that will help prevent accidents in the sports industry is a success of the FMF.

The central objectives of the training program for referees and physiotherapists include:

- Release of vulnerabilities and possible risks based on sports activity behavior.

- Development of skills and procedures for handling situations that require an immediate emergency.

- Design efficient protocols and procedures for different scenarios.

- Methodologies and action guidelines according to the situation that may arise.

The pilot courses will be held on September 19 and 20 and a group of 20 referees will be trained at La Casa del Fútbol in Toluca.

"At the FMF we work every day to evolve, train ourselves and release the best practices for the good of Our Football, with which we reflect our constant commitment to the community, to its quality of life and health," highlighted De Luisa.

The president of the FMF underlined the importance of this collaboration in first aid for referees and physiotherapists and recalled the cases of Yasser Corona's spinal cord injury, in 2017; the Honduran, Luis Garrido who suffered a complete knee dislocation in 2015, and Hirving Lozano's cervical trauma, in 2021.

"With this agreement with the Mexican Red Cross, the Mexican Football Federation becomes a pioneer in first aid training in our sport and we hope that other Federations and even FIFA and Concacaf replicate this measure so that referees and physiotherapists around the world have the best preparation and training to act with a greater margin of safety, speed and efficiency for the benefit of the health of our athletes on the field", he concluded.

Communications Department