FIFA Pre-Match Emergency Action Plan (PEAP)

THE MEDICAL SET PIECE

A pitchside emergency should be rehearsed before kickoff: clear plan, clear roles, correct positioning, ready equipment and closed-loop communication.

• The team doctor enters first, followed by the rest of the medical team.
• Team leader (Black) — leads, ideally hands-off.
• Around the player: Orange (head), Red (chest), Blue (pelvis), White (legs) and Green (bag and AED).

BEFORE KICKOFF: 5 KEY PEAP COMPONENTS

M-CRET = Meet → Call → Position → Check → Train

FIFA — before the tournament

The whole medical team trains in the FIFA set piece with the FIFA Match Doctor (usually Black, the team leader) 5–7 days before the first match, on the standard FIFA equipment.

FIFA — on matchday

Between 2 hours and 1 hour before kick-off the team runs moulages (simulations) of the most critical scenarios, led by the FIFA Match Doctor.

FIFA — everywhere

Use and rehearse the PEAP in all football settings — training sessions as well as matches — adapted to the site and the expertise available.

How often

Practise the emergency plan at least once a year with everyone likely to respond, and review it briefly with the home and visiting medical staff before each competition.

How to rehearse

Hands-on and scenario-based, at different places in the venue: sudden cardiac arrest, head and neck injury, heat stroke and limb injuries. Record when, where, who took part and which scenarios.

After a real emergency

Debrief with everyone involved and use it to improve the plan.

Why it matters

Aim for the first shock within 3 minutes of collapse. In one US study, 89% of school athletes survived a cardiac arrest when CPR and defibrillation were prompt — and survival was higher with an AED already on site.

Sources: FIFA Medical Set Piece — Protocols for on-field interventions (2025); consensus on sudden cardiac arrest on the field of play (Br J Sports Med, 2017); NATA position statement on emergency action plans in sport (J Athl Train, 2024).

GOLDEN RULE: NON-CONTACT COLLAPSE

MEDICAL TEAM MEMBERS

Six roles

Black, Orange, Red, Green, Blue and White — the colours on FIFA's PEAP poster.

Smaller teams

One person can cover more than one role if they are able to. Every role still has to be filled.

Extrication team

The current FIFA PEAP shows six roles: Black, Orange, Red, Green, Blue and White. Earlier versions also marked a separate extrication team in yellow, usually four first aiders provided by the stadium. Some venues and teaching centres still use one. If yours does, include them in the pre-match plan: they wait beside the scoop and basket, facing the player, and join only when the team leader calls them — to help with a log roll or to carry.

FIFA ECM: the Chest member should be one of the most experienced — they lead if no one else can. Pelvis and Legs need no medical skills but must be trained in the log roll. First aiders and paramedics only help if they are part of the plan.

ENTERING THE PITCH (FIFA RULES)

1. The referee assesses the incident.
2. If needed, the referee signals the team doctor onto the pitch.
3. Only then, if needed, the referee calls the medical team — both hands held as if carrying a stretcher.

SIDELINE POSITION AND READY POSITION

• At FIFA matches the medical team sits to the left of Team A's bench, with the extrication kit set up beside the bench.
• The team leader may call the team into the “ready” position.
• Ready: move along the touchline to the point closest to the incident and squat in your assigned position with the stretcher.
• Not needed: return to your seats, passing behind the team benches where possible.

Medical team at FIFA matches

8–9 members: one emergency physician experienced in out-of-hospital care plus paramedics / health professionals doing BLS and ALS, with 2–3 reserves. The same team works every match at a venue.

Training

The whole team trains in the FIFA set piece with the FIFA Match Doctor 5–7 days before the first match, on the standard FIFA equipment.

FIFA Match Doctor

Usually Black, the team leader. Sits with and leads the team, reviews injury mechanisms on a replay device (often with a remote injury spotter), makes their own assessment, calls the ready position, and enters for potentially serious injury or concussion — then directs when the team comes on with the equipment.

MATCHDAY PRINCIPLES

Kick-off −2 h

Team present, equipment checked; player medical centre staffed.

−2 h to −1 h

Moulages (simulations) of the most critical scenarios, led by the FIFA Match Doctor.

Half-time · cool-down

Medical team always present.

Post-match

Medical centre staff stay until the last player has left the stadium.

• Everyone knows their PEAP colour, wears their bib and shows no team bias.
• Equipment set up next to the bench; no phones, photos or food pitchside.

FIFA SKILL ZONE: SIDELINE AND SET-UP

FIFA's own films of the first seconds of the set piece: where the team waits, how it enters, and how the kit is laid out around the player.

PITCHSIDE POSITIONING & TEAM ERGONOMICS

Extrication kit: below the feet, in line with the player. Basket 2–3 basket lengths from the feet; scoop taken out, opened and split, laid between the feet and the basket.

Equipment zone

AED + O2 + emergency care bag at the player's head / left side.

Extrication zone

Below the player's feet, in line with the body: basket 2–3 basket lengths from the feet, scoop opened out and split between the feet and the basket. Kept back until required.

Team leader

Hands-off, with a full view of the whole scene. Keep the working area clean and uncluttered.

EXTRICATION SET PIECE

PREPARE → TILT → SCOOP → STRAP → BASKET → GO

• Orange (the head) commands a gentle 15–20 degree tilt.
• Reconnect the scoop head first, then feet.
• Strap: Chest → Pelvis → Legs → Head.

Medical kit (FIFA)

FIFA bag + oxygen to one side of the head; one person hands out equipment.

Extrication kit (FIFA)

Basket in line with the feet, 2–3 basket lengths away. Scoop out of the basket, extended and split between basket and player.

Extrication team, if the venue has one

Stand or kneel beside the scoop and basket, facing the player, and wait for the team leader. One stays free to pass the scoop and slide the basket in.

The set piece above is for trauma. For a cardiac arrest in progress the player is moved on a long spinal board (a scoop can also be used) with the AED strapped on as one unit — see the cardiac arrest module.

• FIFA team kit (two identical sets): basket stretcher, split scoop or spine board, head blocks, cervical collar, straps or spider; AED; oxygen bottle; splints; an emergency bag the team knows well.
• Entering: Green carries the emergency bag; the others carry the basket with the scoop / board, head blocks, collar and straps inside.

CLOSED-LOOP COMMUNICATION

NAME → COMMAND → REPEAT → CONFIRM

Example — Team leader: “Green, apply the AED.” Green: “Applying AED.” Green: “AED attached.”

POCKET SUMMARY

Before match

M-CRET: Meet – Call – Position – Check – Train

Non-contact collapse

SCA → CPR → AED the moment it arrives. The team leader calls any lift.

Leadership

Hands off – eyes up. Command and confirm.

Extrication (trauma)

Orange commands. Tilt – Scoop – Strap – Basket.