Match Running Performance on Three Different Competitive Standards in Norwegian Soccer

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Football Analytics
• Performance Analysis

Background:

• Understanding player running performance across different competitive levels is crucial for talent development and tactical analysis in professional football.
• Norwegian football provides a unique setting to study the impact of league promotion on player physical output.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the running performance of football players across three distinct competitive standards in Norwegian football.
• To investigate the specific effects of a team's promotion to a higher league on player running metrics.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a fully automatic tracking system to collect data on player running performance.
• Analyzed running speed categories and playing positions across 41 matches involving professional (Level 1 & 2) and amateur (Level 4) teams.
• Collected 278 player observations to compare physical demands.

Main Results:

• Level 1 teams exhibited significantly higher sprinting percentages (61% and 51%) compared to Level 2 and Level 4 teams, respectively.
• While high-speed running distances were similar across levels for specific positions, sprinting distance increased for central defenders and attackers at Level 1.
• Central midfielders and wide midfielders showed more accelerations at Level 1 compared to lower competitive standards.

Conclusions:

• Higher competitive standards in football are associated with increased high-intensity actions, particularly sprinting.
• Team promotion to a higher league positively impacts high-intensity locomotion for specific player roles, notably central defenders and attackers.
• These findings highlight the adaptive physical demands associated with playing at elite levels in football.