Physical characteristics, body composition and physical performance profile of male youth football players

Abstract

Background physical fitness is an important determinant of injury and terms success in foot ball (soccer).risk factor for sports injury in young people and this has been well established f 1 -3]. Physical fitness has also been shown to be a prcdictor of team success in elite football (soccer) [4]. Baseline physical fitness assessment including body composition and physical performance evaluation in football players is an essential aspect of spoils medicinc and scicncc as this provides essential data that can be used by sport mcdicinc clinicians, scientists and coache s to enhance players' health and performance. Studies on youth and adult football players have documented fitness profiles in many parts of Europe and America and data from these studies suggest that players vary widely in body composition and physical characteristics [5-10]. This indicates that there may be disparities in the requirements between different playing positions, levels of play and age but whether this is reflected by differences in physical fitness in male youth football is hitherto not clear. Data on physical characteristics and fitness profiling in male youth players arc generally limited and such data have not been documented at any level of football in Africa. Thus, this study was aimed at providing selected physical characteristics, body composition and physical performance reference data for semi-professional male youth football players in Nigeria.