Goalkeepers Live Longer than Field Players: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis Based on World-Class Football Players

Witold Śmigielski, Robert Gajda, Łukasz Małek and Wojciech Drygas
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Witold Śmigielski: Department of Demography, University of Lodz, 90-131 Lodz, Poland
Robert Gajda: Center for Sports Cardiology at the Gajda-Med Medical Center in Pułtusk, 06-100 Pultusk, Poland
Łukasz Małek: Department of Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, and Health Promotion, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski National Institute of Cardiology, 04-628 Warsaw, Poland
Wojciech Drygas: Department of Epidemiology, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, and Health Promotion, Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski National Institute of Cardiology, 04-628 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-10

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to study whether the position occupied by footballers on the pitch influences their life duration. It is known that various types of sporting activity (endurance, resistance, or mixed) may influence lifespan in different ways. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the role of different positions played in team sports such as football. Our research was based on elite international football players born before 1923 who took part in the first three football World Cups ( n = 443) or played in the 1946/1947 season in the leading clubs of the main European leagues ( n = 280). Goalkeepers were characterized by a 5–8-year longer life duration compared to their colleagues playing in other positions (World Cup: 82.0 ± 7.0 vs. 74.0 ± 8.0, p = 0.0047; European leagues: 83.0 ± 7.5 vs. 78.0 ± 8.0, p = 0.0023), with an absence of differences between defenders, midfielders, and forwards. Moreover, in both of the analyzed subgroups, the rate of survival until the 85th birthday was significantly higher among goalkeepers than among field players ( p = 0.0102 and p = 0.0048, for both studied groups, respectively).

Keywords: football goalkeepers; football field players; football; life expectancy; longevity; playing position (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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