Fitness determinants of success in men's and women's football

TLDR

The study examined gender and age differences in physical performance among elite football players. Thirty-four elite male and female players (aged 17–24) from a professional club were grouped by gender and competitive level and tested on endurance, sprint, vertical jump, agility, and ball dribbling. Results revealed significant gender differences in endurance and agility, with males outperforming females, while sprint performance differed only by gender and vertical jump and ball dribbling showed no age or gender effects, and overall endurance and agility should guide training and talent identification.

Abstract

In this study, we examined gender and age differences in physical performance in football. Thirty-four elite female and 34 elite male players (age 17 +/- 1.6 to 24 +/- 3.4 years) from a professional football club were divided into four groups (n=17 each) according to gender and competitive level (senior males, senior females, junior males, and junior females). Players were tested for specific endurance (Yo-YoIR1), sprint over 15 m (Sprint-15 m), vertical jump without (CMJ) or with (ACMJ) arm swing, agility (Agility-15 m), and ball dribbling over 15 m (Ball-15 m). The Yo-YoIR1 and Agility-15m performances showed both a gender and competitive level difference (P < 0.001). Senior and junior males covered 97 and 153% more distance during the Yo-YoIR1 than senior and junior females, respectively (P < 0.001). Gender but not age differences were found for Sprint-15 m performance (P < 0.001). No difference in vertical jump and Ball-15 m performances were found between senior and junior males (P > 0.05). More marked gender differences were evident in endurance than in anaerobic performance in female players. These results show major fitness differences by gender for a given competitive level in football players. It is suggested that training and talent identification should focus on football-specific endurance and agility as fitness traits in post-adolescent players of both sexes.