ArticleBMJ open sport & exercise medicine2026
'Match load' construct in professional football: complexities and considerations.
Article in BMJ open sport & exercise medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
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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.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Effects ofNutrients · 2026Trial
- Using Match Reference Values of External Load to Monitor Performance and Fatigue in Football: Are We Looking the Right Way?Sports medicine - open · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
The differentiation between training load and match load is an important consideration in applied practice, with the match load construct being used in athlete monitoring to inform training prescription and return to play decision-making post-rehabilitation. The term 'match load' lacks a clear definition, and its complexity requires greater recognition. We propose a practical, conceptual framework for match load and influential contextual factors to consider within professional football that may impact a player's match load. The aim of the article is to provide practitioners with definitions of match load categories and to guide future research that may help enhance the measurement and management of load to inform training and rehabilitation processes.
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