Soccer is a fast-paced sport that requires quick movement and good flexibility. A fall can seriously injure your joints, and ankle injuries such as sprains are common among soccer players. A previous injury increases your chances of future injury, so if you have an ankle injury, you should wrap your ankle. Some players wrap their ankles even if they're not injured to protect their joints and avoid time away from the game.
Wrap the Achilles tendon -- the point where the calf meets the back of the foot -- with athletic tape. Angle your foot so it is flat and at a 90-degree angle to your leg. Extend the tape down under your foot at the arch and wrap back up to the Achilles tendon twice. This is called a stirrup.
Wrap the tape around the ankle just under the Achilles tendon twice. Create another stirrup by wrapping down under the arch of your foot and back up to the ankle. Wrap twice around the ankle again.
Use foam tape to wrap around your entire foot. Begin behind the arch of the foot, wrapping once all around, and continue wrapping up to the ball of the foot. This provides additional support. Wrap athletic tape around the foam, then wrap once under the Achilles tendon down under the arch of the foot again to form another stirrup.
Tips
Place a band around the ankle after wrapping to provide additional support and to prevent the tape from peeling off.