Reflecting on an Unforgettable Football Athletic Conference 2025 ⚽🔥

We’re still feeling the energy from two incredible days at the Football Athletic Conference 2025 in Vienna! 🙌

This year’s edition took the theme “How to Operate Under High Pressure” to heart—bringing together some of the most influential minds in football performance, sports science, and coaching to share their strategies, stories, and lessons from the toughest environments in the game.

Day 1: Operating Under Pressure – Inside the Elite Environment

Day 1 opened with high-level talks that gave us a rare look behind the scenes of top-level football.

Bram Swinnen set the tone with his session on Microdosing and the Fine Balance Between Under- and Overloading, challenging coaches to rethink how they structure and individualize training doses.

Richard Akenhead followed with a deep dive into Load Management Frameworks, highlighting the principles and decision-making strategies behind sustainable high performance.

After a short break, the stage belonged to Ruth Waghorn, whose presentation Speed Work Under Pressure: Key Learnings & Practical Tips combined science-based insights with real-world applications—showing how to maintain technical and tactical precision when fatigue and intensity rise.

Closing the day, Daniel Kadlec took us Sidestepping Between Science and Fiction with his thought-provoking talk on Training for Worst-Case Scenarios—a session that blended biomechanics, movement science, and creative coaching design.

The day wrapped up with our Speakers Dinner & Fireside Chat, where open conversations and shared experiences carried the discussions well into the evening. 🔥

Day 2: From Science to Application – Bridging the Gap

Day 2 kicked off with Ben Rosenblatt’s session How to Develop a Successful Load-Management Environment, focusing on how to build athletes’ physical capability to tolerate high training loads rather than just managing them.

Expert Panel

Our signature Expert Panel once again proved to be one of the conference highlights.

Top practitioners and researchers came together on stage to answer questions directly from the audience—turning insights from Day 1 into open, practical discussions.

It was an engaging exchange where real challenges from daily performance work met diverse perspectives from the highest levels of football. 🎙️

To close out the conference, Fabio Nakamura presented his session on The Most Demanding Periods of a Match: Plan Accordingly.

He shared evidence-based insights on how to prepare players for the most intense phases of competition, emphasizing the importance of contextual data and training specificity. ⚽

Global Exchange and Community

What truly defined FAC 2025 was the sense of community. Coaches, scientists, and practitioners from more than 15 nations and 20 professional clubs came together in Vienna to connect, learn, and grow together. 🌍

From hallway conversations to late-night discussions over coffee, the atmosphere was filled with passion, curiosity, and a shared commitment to elevate football performance to the next level.

Relive the Highlights 🎥

We’ve captured it all in our FAC 2025 Aftermovie—the energy, the people, the knowledge, and the unforgettable moments that made this year’s conference truly special.

Watch now and experience the Football Athletic Conference through the eyes of those who were there. 👇

FAC 2025 may be over, but the journey continues.

Stay tuned—FAC Season 2026 is already on the horizon, and it’s going to be even bigger. 🚀

👉 If you want to stay up to date and get early access to all announcements for the FAC Season 26/27, join the waitlist now!

Be the first to receive updates, early-bird offers, and exclusive insights into the upcoming season.