Women's Football Hub

By Carolyn Kent – Women’s Football Hub

Introduction

In this week’s episode of the Women’s Football Hub podcast, we welcomed Erin Griffiths, a PhD candidate working with Manchester United and Manchester Metropolitan University. Erin is investigating ACL injury risk factors in professional women’s football. Co-hosted by MSc Physiotherapy student Emily Howarth, this episode offered a deep dive into research in elite football, the challenges of working in-club, and advice for aspiring PhD students.

Meet Erin Griffiths

Erin’s journey started with a passion for sport and an academic background in sports science at Lancaster University. From an internship with Burnley FC to a Master’s with Manchester United’s men’s team, her career path evolved into a research-led focus on female athlete health. Now 10 months into her PhD, Erin is exploring ACL injury mechanisms through a multifactorial lens.

“Women’s football feels like a blank slate – there’s so much more to explore.”

Inside the PhD: What Erin is Researching

Erin’s research is centred around identifying modifiable risk factors for ACL injuries in professional female footballers. Her approach includes:

• 🦵 Weekly physical testing to monitor lower limb strength
• 🎥 Video analysis of ACL injury scenarios
• 🧬 Hormonal tracking and physiological profiling
• 🔬 Biomechanics & movement screening

The aim? To better understand how strength, movement patterns, and hormones fluctuate across a season – and what that might mean for ACL injury risk.

Challenges in Industry-Based Research

Working within a professional club environment brings unique hurdles:

• 🔄 Projects shift often – Erin has changed focus several times to align with club needs.
• ⏳ Research takes time – Field research means coordinating with busy coaching and medical staff.
• 🧠 Ethics and approval processes – Changes require formal approval from clubs and universities.

“Football is planned to the minute – you can’t just change things without a clear rationale.”

Early Insights & Reflections

While the research is still in early stages, Erin is already shaping the future of ACL injury prevention:

• 🧪 She is piloting movement tests and strength assessments to establish baseline data.
• 📚 A narrative review and video analysis study are underway.
• 🔄 She is refining her approach to hormonal data, recognising the complexity of individual profiles.

“It’s not about creating headlines – it’s about building reliable foundations.”

Life as a PhD Student in Football

Balancing life at a Premier League club with academic commitments is no small feat. Erin shares:

• ⏰ It’s not a 9-to-5 – research seeps into evenings and weekends.
• 💬 Building rapport with players and staff is essential to collecting meaningful data.
• 💡 Learning to adapt and take feedback from multiple supervisors has been key.

“Most of the time, you’re juggling multiple stakeholders who all have different priorities.”

Advice for Aspiring PhD Students

For students considering a PhD, Erin has some clear advice: ✅ Be passionate – You’ll be living and breathing a niche topic for years. ✅ Network – Reach out to researchers on LinkedIn. ✅ Expect a challenge – Funding is limited and the workload is real. ✅ Start small – If you don’t enjoy the application process, the PhD may not be for you.

“You get paid to read and write about something you love. That’s pretty special.”

Final Thoughts

Erin’s journey is a brilliant example of what’s possible when passion meets opportunity in women’s football. Her work has the potential to shape injury prevention strategies and elevate female athlete care at the highest level.

📢 Thinking about a PhD in football research? Reach out to Erin on LinkedIn or via her email at erin.griffiths@manunited.co.uk.

🎧 Listen to the full episode now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your favourite platform.

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This blog post was created with assistance from OpenAI’s ChatGPT (OpenAI, 2025).