Irfan Asif, M.D., named medical director for the USFLUAB Sports & Exercise Medicine, a division of UAB Medicine, will be the medical provider for the new United States Football League. Irfan M. Asif, M.D., will serve as medical director and as a member of the league’s medical advisory committee. Asif, a physician certified in sports medicine and family medicine, is the chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine, associate dean for primary care and rural health in the Heersink School of Medicine and director of UAB’s primary care service line.
UAB Sports & Exercise Medicine will provide the USFL with sideline physicians, preseason and postseason player physicals, mental health services, nutritionist consultations, clinical services, an employee health database and other services.
"There is no priority greater to the USFL than player health and safety, so being near one of America’s premier medical centers was a big factor in our decision to play our inaugural season in Birmingham,” said Edward Hartman, USFL Executive Vice President of Business Operations. “UAB Sports & Exercise Medicine are experts in the field and we’re proud to have Dr. Asif serving as our first USFL Medical Director.”
Supported by the UAB Departments of Family and Community Medicine, Orthopaedic Surgery, and Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine is comprised of physicians, care coordinators, certified athletic trainers, physical therapists, radiologists, a psychologist, a nutritionist and a certified pedorthist. With years of experience treating high school, collegiate and professional and adaptive athletes, the program specializes in the evaluation, management, rehabilitation and prevention of injury and disorders in patients of all ages.
“Our UAB Sports and Exercise Medicine team is excited to partner with an outstanding professional organization in the USFL,” Asif said. “We are committed to supporting players’ health on and off the field and working with them to achieve their goals during this inaugural season. It is an exciting time for professional sports in Birmingham.”
“This partnership with the USFL speaks to our love of football in the South as well as the outstanding healthcare delivered everyday by UAB Medicine,” said Selwyn Vickers, M.D., CEO of the UAB Health System. “Dr. Asif and his outstanding team will provide world-class medical care to the league as we look forward to an exciting first season.”
Asif, as a primary care physician specializing in sports and exercise medicine, has developed a local, national and international reputation for teaching and scholarship. He joined UAB in 2018 from the Greenville Health System and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, where he served as the vice-chair of academics and research in the Department of Family Medicine and as the sports medicine fellowship director. Asif earned his medical degree in 2007 at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He completed his family medicine residency at the University of Washington with a concentration in sports medicine. Asif then stayed at UW for another year to complete his fellowship in sports medicine.