Comparison of match running demands between U18, reserve and first-team footballers.

Maughan, Patrick; Cowie, Greig; MacFarlane, Niall; Swinton, Paul; Burgess, Katherine

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate differences in match running demands between first-team, reserve, and U18 footballers. A retrospective, season-long study of 37 male professional footballers was undertaken. Total distance, low-intensity running distance, running distance, sprinting distance, maximum velocity attained, acceleration efforts frequency and deceleration efforts frequency were all covered. The findings suggest that increasing the capacity of players to perform high-intensity actions should be a key focus of practitioners aiming to physically develop players for first team football.

Citation

MAUGHAN, P., COWIE, G., MACFARLANE, N., SWINTON, P. and BURGESS, K. 2025. Comparison of match running demands between U18, reserve and first-team footballers. Presented at the 2025 World congress in science and soccer (WCSS 2025), 17-20 June 2025, Glasgow, UK.

• Presentation Conference Type: Poster
• Conference Name: 2025 World congress in science and soccer (WCSS 2025)
• Start Date: Jun 17, 2025
• End Date: Jun 20, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jun 26, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 26, 2025
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Keywords: Under 18 footballers; Reserve team footballers; Fist-team footballers; Soccer; Running demands; Physiological developments
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/2892373