ArticleFrontiers in psychology2026
From mind to match: the impact of psychological skills intervention programs on football players' mental toughness, decision-making, and tactical skills: a randomized controlled group study.
Article in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background: Football is characterized by rapidly changing and highly demanding competitive conditions in which players are frequently exposed to substantial psychological pressure. Athletes' psychological responses to these pressures can directly influence critical performance-related factors such as decision-making, tactical execution, and overall game performance. In modern football, physical and technical abilities alone are often insufficient for achieving high-level performance; psychological competencies have become increasingly important determinants of success. Consequently, the development and implementation of structured psychological training approaches have gained considerable attention in sports science research. In this context, Psychological Skills Intervention (PSI) programs are considered promising strategies for enhancing athletes' psychological capacities and optimizing their performance in competitive environments. Objective: This study aims to investigate the effects of Psychological Skills Intervention (PSI) programs on football players' mental toughness, decision-making abilities, and tactical skills. Methods: The study sample consisted of football players from the youth academies of professional football clubs competing in the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) Development Leagues during the 2025-2026 season. A total of 55 football players voluntarily participated in the study and were divided into a control group ( Results: Although improvements were observed in the mental toughness, decision-making, and tactical skills of U-19 footballers in the control group, statistically significant improvements were observed in the experimental group who participated in the PSI program. Conclusion: The findings suggest that integrating Psychological Skills Intervention (PSI) programs as a systematic, integral component of training for footballers competing in development leagues can significantly enhance players' individual performance and career development as they progress through the competitive pathway. Furthermore, such programs may play a critical role in developing elite-level footballers capable of contributing to the long-term and sustainable success of national football.
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.