Women's Football: An Examination of Factors That Influence Movement Patterns

Abstract

The popularity and professionalism of women's football has increased in conjunction with participation rates over the last 10 years, with projected female participation rates to double worldwide by 2026. Scientific interest has also increased, in part due to Fédération Internationale de Football Association now allowing Global Positioning System (GPS) units to be worn during all competitive matches, resulting in investigations into the match demands of women's football. Therefore, the purpose of the present review is to provide a summary of the literature specific to the movement patterns of women's football matches.Contemporary scientific investigation utilising GPS match data has led to a greater understanding of the movement patterns of football. Greater emphasis has been placed on high-speed running and sprinting during matches, due to the strong link to scoring opportunities and being a distinguishing factor between international and national along with elite and sub-elite competition levels. Further research however, is warranted in regard to accelerations and decelerations, given the high metabolic and mechanical loads and contribution to high-speed running and sprinting. With an influx of research into the movement patterns of match-play, investigators have begun to examine factors affecting match performance such as positional demands, age, level of competition, opponent, score-line, and phase of the game. An understanding of the factors that influence match demands is vital to ultimately be able to understand the effects on performance and how manipulating these factors may improve football performance and reduce the risk of injury.

Acceleration and High-Speed Running Profiles of Women's International and Domestic Football Matches

“…Analysis of high-speed running and sprinting data was based on the predefined cut-offs of 16-20 km•h −1 and > 20 km•h −1 , respectively. These thresholds are in agreement with previous investigations of women's football (Griffin et al, 2020b).…”

“…The increased acceleration capacity of players competing in international matches is supported through sprint testing, with players competing in international matches faster over 10 and 20 m compared to players in domestic competitions (Gabbett, 2010;Haugen et al, 2012;Griffin et al, 2020a). The faster 10 and 20 m sprint times of players competing in international matches indicate they have a higher acceleration capacity from a standing start.…”

“…Positional differences and requirements have been demonstrated to exist in women's football matches (Griffin et al, 2020b). Comparisons between playing positions demonstrate that attacker's movement patterns, except for the duration spent accelerating and decelerating in band 4, were similar or higher during domestic matches.…”

“…Since these pioneering time-motion analysis studies (Gabbett and Mulvey, 2008;Andersson et al, 2010;Gabbett et al, 2013), no investigation has utilized the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to compare acceleration and high-speed running profiles of women's international and domestic football matches. Approval for the utilization of GNSS, specifically Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, within football, has allowed for a greater number of match files and data to be collected and analyzed more time-efficiently (Griffin et al, 2020b). Such comparisons between international and domestic competition levels offer important insights into key differences that can be used to inform talent identification programs and training interventions which may ultimately lead to improved athletic development and performance of female football players.…”

“…Comparing accelerations and decelerations during international and domestic women's football matches will determine if a difference exists and if indeed accelerations and decelerations are a distinguishing factor between competition levels. A review of the physical characteristics of female football players has demonstrated that the ability to accelerate and decelerate as measured during field-testing are differentiating factors between international, domestic and sub-elite players (Griffin et al, 2020a). Whether these differences in physical characteristics are also evident in player movement patterns during women's football matches is unknown, conclusive evidence is yet to exist regarding the acceleration and deceleration of players during international and domestic matches.…”