Effect of relative age on playing time of young athletes participating in the Brazilian professional football championship (series-A) and in international competitions for the Brazilian team
Abstract
The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of relative age (RAE) on the playing time of young athletes participating in the Brazilian professional football championship (Serie-A) and in international competitions for the Brazilian team. 149 male football players were included, who reached the professional level and competed in the Brazilian Championship, from 2020 to 2022. In addition, 93 players called up to participate in the South American and World championships (Under-17 and 20) of teams in 2023. The following data was extracted from the athletes: date of birth and playing time in competitions. Subsequently, the players were grouped into birth quartiles (Q1, Q2, Q3 and Q4), according to their birth dates. The chi-square test (χ2) was performed to compare the number of athletes between birth quartiles. To check the EIR in the participants' playing time, Kruskal-wallis was used. In relation to the athletes who competed in the Brazilian championship, a greater number of players were observed in Q1 and Q2 compared to Q3 and Q4. When we analyzed the athletes called up for the South American and World championships (Under-17 and 20) in 2023, we observed a greater number of players in Q1 compared to Q2, Q3 and Q4. Additionally, there are also a greater number of athletes in Q2 compared to Q3 and Q4. The results suggest the non-existence of RAE in the playing time of young athletes during the competitions analyzed.
References
-Barbosa, J.M.; Cardoso, F.D.S.; Gonzaga, A.D.S.; Teoldo, I. The relative age effect on player selection and escalation: case study of cianortefutebolclube. Brazilian J Soccer Sci. Vol. 11. Num. 2. 2016. p. 39-50.
-Barreira, J.; Bueno, B.; Chiminazzo, J.G.C. Relative age effect and age of peak performance: an analysis of women's football players in the Olympic games (1996-2016). Motriz: Revista de Educação Física. Vol. 27. 2021.
-Bozděch, M.; Agricola, A.; Zháněl, J. The Relative Age Effect at Different Age Periods in Soccer: A Meta-Analysis. Perceptual and Motor Skills. Vol. 130. Num. 6. 2023. p. 2632-2662.
-Cobley, S.; Baker, J.; Wattie, N.; McKenna, J. Annual age-grouping and athlete development: a meta-analytical review of relative age effects in sport. Sports medicine. Vol. 39. 2009. p. 235-256.
-Costa, I.T.D.; Cardoso, F.D.S.L.; Garganta, J. O Índice de Desenvolvimento Humano e a Data de Nascimento podem condicionar a ascensão de jogadores de Futebol ao alto nível de rendimento?. Motriz: Revista de Educação Física. Vol. 19. 2013. p. 34-45.
-Jakobsson, J.; Julin, A.L.; Persson, G.; Malm, C. Darwinian selection discriminates young athletes: The relative age effect in relation to sporting performance. Sports Medicine-Open. Vol. 7. 2021. p. 1-18.
-Musch, J.; Grondin, S. Unequal competition as an impediment to personal development: A review of the relative age effect in sport. Developmental review. Vol. 21. Num. 2. 2001. p. 147-167.
-Nascimento Júnior, A.A.; Costa, I.T.; Machado, V.R.; Alhadas, R.D.; Cardoso, F. Influência do efeito da idade relativa na participação de jogadores de futebol na liga inglesa. Revista Brasileira de Futebol. Vol. 16. Num. 1. 2023.
-Neto, E.K.; Barbosa, S.; Costa, I.T.; Cardoso, F. Influência da idade relativa na participação de jogadores de futebol na série a do campeonato brasileiro. Revista Brasileira de Futebol. Vol. 13. Num. 3. 2021. p. 41-53.
-Silva, T.; Garganta, J.; Brito, J.; Cardoso, F.; Teoldo, I. Influence of the relative age effect over the tactical performance of under-13 soccer players. Revista Brasileira de Ciências do Esporte. Vol. 40. 2018. p. 54-61.
-Smith, K.L.; Scarfone, S.; Chittle, L.; Horton, S.; Dixon, J. C. Confusion Reigns: An Analysis of Responses to US Soccer Age Cut-Off Date Policy Change. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. Vol. 3. 2021. p. 635195.
-Smith, K.L.; Weir, P. L.; Till, K.; Romann, M.; Cobley, S. Relative age effects across and within female sport contexts: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine. Vol. 48. 2018. p. 1451-1478.
-Verbeek, J.; Van Der Steen, S.; Van Yperen, N. W.; Den Hartigh, R.J.R. What do we currently know about the development of talent? A systematic review in the soccer context. International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. 2023. p. 1-23.
Copyright (c) 2024 Douglas Leonardo de Melo, Luciano Bernardes eite, Sebastião Felipe Ferreira Costa, Leôncio Lopes Soares, José Geraldo do Carmo Salles, Antônio José Natali
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain the copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication, with work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License BY-NC which allows the sharing of the work with acknowledgment of the authorship of the work and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are authorized to enter into additional contracts separately for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in this journal (eg, publishing in institutional repository or book chapter), with acknowledgment of authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are allowed and encouraged to post and distribute their work online (eg, in institutional repositories or on their personal page) at any point before or during the editorial process, as this can bring about productive change as well as increase impact and impact. citation of published work (See The Effect of Free Access).
