ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2014
Applied physiology of female soccer: an update.
Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 94 papers, 9 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
94 citing papers in PubMed, 9 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 281 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of plyometric training on strength, explosive performance, and agility in female team-sport athletes: a systematic review and three-level meta-analysis.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of Strength and Plyometric Training on Vertical Jump, Linear Sprint, and Change-of-Direction Speed in Female Adolescent Team Sport Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2025Pooled it
- The Effects of Strength, Plyometric and Combined Training on Strength, Power and Speed Characteristics in High-Level, Highly Trained Male Youth Soccer Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2024Pooled it
- Training in women soccer players: A systematic review on training load monitoring.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Injury Profile in Women's Football: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Plyometric Jump Training on Jump and Sprint Performance in Young Male Soccer Players: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2020Pooled it
- Effects of Plyometric Jump Training in Female Soccer Player's Physical Fitness: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Pooled it
- Getting the most out of intensive longitudinal data: a methodological review of workload-injury studies.BMJ open · 2018Pooled it
- Trial
- Small-Sided Soccer Games Promote Greater Adaptations on Vertical Jump and Change-of-Direction Deficit and Similar Adaptations in Aerobic Capacity than High-Intensity Interval Training in Females.Journal of sports science & medicine · 2024Trial
- Acute effects of the FIFA11+ and Football+ warm-ups on motor performance. A crossover randomized controlled trial.PloS one · 2023Trial
- Effects of plyometric training on match running performance in elite U20 male soccer players at moderate altitude.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Article
- Examining the relationship between gamification profiles (HEXAD) and mental fatigue in football players: a theoretical and contextual analysis.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- The effects of an 8-week Exer-Genie-assisted speed and ABC drill training program on speed, hamstring strength, and vertical jump performance in female football players.BMC sports science, medicine & rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Menstrual Cycle Characteristics and Injury History in Adult Amateur Female Football Players: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Selected LEAF-Q Items.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- The Effectiveness of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) in Improving Performance in Soccer Players-A Scoping Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Acute differences in field-based physical performance between Ramadan-type fasting and non-fasting conditions in 10-11-year-old youth soccer players.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Efficient talent identification in women's football: A ranking-based approach for goal scoring analysis.PloS one · 2026Article
34 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The popularity and professionalism of female soccer has increased markedly in recent years, with elite players now employed on either a professional or semi-professional basis. The previous review of the physiological demands of female soccer was undertaken two decades ago when the sport was in its relative infancy. Increased research coupled with greater training and competition demands warrants an updated review to consider the effect on physical performance and injury patterns. The physical demands of match-play along with the influence of factors such as the standard of competition, playing position and fatigue have been explored. Total distance covered for elite female players is approximately 10 km, with 1.7 km completed at high speed (>15 kmh(-1)) [corrected].Elite players complete 28% more high-speed running and 24 % more sprinting than moderate-level players. Decrements in high-speed running distance have been reported between and within halves, which may indicate an inability to maintain high-intensity activity. Although the physical capacity of female players is the most thoroughly researched area, comparisons are difficult due to differing protocols. Elite players exhibit maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) values of 49.4-57.6 mL·kg(-1)·min(-1), Yo Yo Intermittent Endurance test level 2 (YYIE2) scores of 1,774 ± 532 m [mean ± standard deviation (SD)] and 20 m sprint times of 3.17 ± 0.03 s (mean ± SD). Reasons for the increased prevalence of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in females (2-6 times greater than males) are discussed, with anatomical, biomechanical loading and neuromuscular activation differences being cited in the literature. This review presents an in-depth contemporary examination of the applied physiology of the female soccer player.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.