Effects of Small-Sided Soccer Games on Physical Fitness, Physiological Responses, and Health Indices in Untrained Individuals and Clinical Populations: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Small-sided soccer games (SSSG) are a specific exercise regime with two small teams playing against each other on a relatively small pitch. There is evidence from original research that SSSG exposure provides performance and health benefits for untrained adults. Objectives: The aim of this systematic review was to summarize recent evidence on the acute and long-term effects of SSSG on physical fitness, physiological responses, and health indices in healthy untrained individuals and clinical populations. Materials and Methods: This systematic literature search was conducted in four electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus) from inception until June 2019. The following key terms (and synonyms searched for by the MeSH database) were included and combined using the operators "AND", "OR", "NOT": ((soccer OR football) AND ("soccer training" OR "football training" OR "soccer game*" OR "small-sided soccer game*") AND ("physical fitness" OR "physiological adaptation*" OR "physiological response*" OR health OR "body weight" OR "body mass" OR "body fat" OR "bone composition" OR "blood pressure")). The search syntax initially identified 1,145 records. After screening for titles, abstracts, and full-texts, 41 studies remained that examined the acute (7 studies) and long-term effects (34 studies) of SSSG-based training on physical fitness, physiological responses, and selected health indices in healthy untrained individuals and clinical populations. Results: No training-related injuries were reported in the 41 acute and long-term SSSG studies. Typically, a single session of SSSG lasted 12 to 20 minutes (e.g. 3x4 min with 3 min rest or 5x4 min with 4 min rest) involving 4 to 12 players (2 vs. 2 to 6 vs. 6) at an intensity ≥80% of HR max. Following single SSSG sessions, high cardiovascular and metabolic demands were observed. Specifically, based on the outcomes, the 7 acute studies reported average heart rates (HR) ≥80% of HR max (165-175 bpm) and mean blood lactate concentrations exceeding 5 mmol/l (4.5-5.9 mmol/l) after single SSSG sessions.

Effects of Mental Fatigue in Total Running Distance and Tactical Behavior During Small-Sided Games: A Systematic Review With a Meta-Analysis in Youth and Young Adult's Soccer Players

“…Although two studies can be used in meta-analyses (Valentine et al, 2010), considering reduced sample sizes are common in the sports science literature (Abt et al, 2020), including in SSG studies (Zouhal et al, 2020), analysis and interpretation of results in this systematic review and meta-analysis were only conducted in the case of at least three study groups provided baseline and mental fatigue-related data for the same measure. Means and standard deviation (SD) for dependent variables were used to calculate effect sizes (ES; Hedge's g) for each outcome in the mental-fatigue and control conditions.…”

Effects of Recreational Small-Sided Soccer Games on Bone Mineral Density in Untrained Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…Although two studies can be used in meta-analyses [ 34 ], considering reduced sample sizes are common in the sports science literature [ 35 ], including in SSG studies [ 30 ], analysis and interpretation of results in this systematic review and meta-analysis were only conducted in the case of at least three studies provided baseline and follow-up data for the same measure. Pre-training and post-training means and standard deviations (SD) for dependent variables were used to calculate effect sizes (ES; Hedge’s g ) for each outcome measure in the SSG-based training and control groups.…”

“…The use of recreational soccer as an approach for non-pharmacological clinical programs for specific adult populations has been widely researched [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. However, the use of SSGs, in particular, was only recently summarized in a systematic review that was not dedicated to a specific outcome, and no meta-analysis was conducted [ 30 ]. Therefore, there remains a need for a meta-analytical comparison that provides information about the effectiveness of recreational soccer SSGs vs. control groups on BMD in adult populations.…”

Effects of the Small-Sided Soccer Games on Blood Pressure in Untrained Hypertensive Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials

“…Although some systematic reviews have been done on the effects of recreational soccer in healthy and clinical populations [21,22], only one has summarized such findings related to SSGs [23]. This review [23] summarizes the findings related to different outcomes and populations (healthy and clinical) but does not include a meta-analysis. Additionally, as far as we know, specific reviews of recreational football conducted on clinical populations were specific to diabetes [24].…”