Association between Fitness Level and Physical Match Demands of Professional Female Football Referees

María Luisa Martín Sánchez (), José M. Oliva-Lozano, Jorge García-Unanue, Peter Krustrup, Jose Luis Felipe, Víctor Moreno-Pérez, Leonor Gallardo and Javier Sánchez-Sánchez
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María Luisa Martín Sánchez: Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Calle Tajo, s/n, Villaviciosa de Odón, 28670 Madrid, Spain
José M. Oliva-Lozano: Health Research Centre, University of Almería, 04120 Almería, Spain
Jorge García-Unanue: IGOID Research Group, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45004 Toledo, Spain
Peter Krustrup: Faculty of Health Science, University of Southern Denmark, 5230 Odense, Denmark
Jose Luis Felipe: Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Calle Tajo, s/n, Villaviciosa de Odón, 28670 Madrid, Spain
Víctor Moreno-Pérez: Center for Translational Research in Physiotherapy, Department of Pathology and Surgery, Miguel Hernandez University of Elche, 03202 San Joan, Spain
Leonor Gallardo: IGOID Research Group, University of Castilla-La Mancha, 45004 Toledo, Spain
Javier Sánchez-Sánchez: Faculty of Sport Sciences, Universidad Europea de Madrid, Calle Tajo, s/n, Villaviciosa de Odón, 28670 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 17, 1-10

Abstract: The aim of this study was to examine the physical demands for elite female referees during competitive matches and to evaluate the relationship between match performance and fitness levels. Seventeen female elite field referees were fitness-tested (29.0 ± 5.2 (SD) years, 163.8 ± 6.7 cm, 54.0 ± 5.1 kg, Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (YYIR1) performance 1610 ± 319 m) and were analysed during a total of 187 football matches. Global positioning systems (GPS) were used in this research. The physical demands were significantly lower ( p < 0.05) in the second half of matches compared to the first half. Regarding the acceleration-related variables, the female referees revealed a higher number of high-intensity actions in the first half compared to the second half. However, higher low-intensity demands were observed for the females referees in the second half compared to the first half in the total number of accelerations (ACC) (~70.48 n; ES = 0.61; p < 0.05) and decelerations (DEC) (~71.11 n; ES = 0.62; p < 0.05); total number of ACC in zone 1 (~85.27 n; ES = 0.70; p < 0.05) and DEC in zone 1 (Z1) (~83.98 n; ES = 0.71; p < 0.05); and distance covered accelerating and decelerating in Z1. The distance covered in YYIR1 and the performance in the repeated sprint ability test correlated with the physical demands during matches for female football referees ( p < 0.05). In conclusion, this study described the physical performance profile of female football referees and differences between the first and second halves of matches were observed. The results of this study revealed positive correlations between intermittent exercise fitness levels, the repeated sprint ability performance and match performance in female football referees, and thus this information can be implemented in their training plan designs.

Keywords: load monitoring; officials; tracking systems; soccer; performance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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