Turning movements performed during FA Premier League soccer matches

Abstract

OBJECTIVES Time-motion analysis studies have provided a breakdown of match time between different locomotive movements. However, such information does not indicate the agility demands of the given sport as turning during movement or the transition between movements have not been reported. Therefore, the purpose of the current investiga-tion was to characterise the nature of turning performed during elite soccer competitions and investigate the transition of locomotive movements (LM). METHODS The on-field activity of 55 FA Premier League soccer players was recorded from Sky Television’s PlayerCam facility for approximately 15 minutes each. The purposeful movement within these observations (about 5 minutes per player) was analysed using the Bloomfield Movement Classification (Bloomfield et al., 2004) allowing LM, direction and intensity of movement to be recorded. RESULTS A total of 26,613 movements were recorded and 5,115 of these were turning events. Table 1 shows the LM performed immediately before (BF) and after (AF) each turn. There were 21% of turns performed within the same LM and 79% during a transition. Chi square tests of independence were applied to the angle (≤90° or >90°), direction (left or right) and movement BF and AF each turn. DISCUSSION The frequency profile of movements performed BF (X2,24=185.0, P < 0.001) and AF (X2,24=69.6, P < 0.001) turns were significantly influenced by angle with more turns of ≤90° BF or AF jogging and shuffling and more turns of >90° during skipping, stopping and slowing. The current results provide knowledge for development of speed and agility training exercises specifically for elite soccer players.