Game Running Performance and Fitness in Women’s Futsal

Abstract

The study aimed to verify possible associations between game-play running performance and outcomes derived from fitness (running) tests in female futsal players. Sixteen women professional elite futsal players from a 1st division league team (19.2±2 years-old, 4.3±2.1 years of experience) participated. Firstly, a graded incremental treadmill test was adopted to determine maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max). Following 72 h of laboratory protocol, players were asked to perform a repeated-sprint test on a court (8×40 m with two 180° change-of-directions). Twenty-four hours after, players participated in a one-off friendly game (two 20-min half-times). A computerized automatic image recognition software (DVIDEOW; 30 Hz) allowed to determine game running performance variables. Fatigue index and best time in the court test and VO2max and its attached speed derived from laboratory-based test showed significant moderate-to-moderately high correlations (r=− 0.59–0.76; p<0.05) with some game running performance outputs, notably related to high-intensity running. In conclusion, the present study provided initial evidence on associations between two fitness tests and one-off game running performance in female futsal. Information derived from the work potentially help conditioning professionals working with female futsal athletes gain awareness about some properties of common testing tools.

Characterization of Reproductive and Morphological Variables in Female Elite Futsal Players

“…Although we did not measure energy intake or energy balance, premenarche-trained futsal players had lower body fat (kg) than their postmenarche-trained counterparts. The ranges of body fat in our study are within the range from other studies with female futsal players of different performance levels (i.e., elite, sub-elite, and amateur; Barbero-Alvarez et al, 2015;Ramos-Campo et al, 2016;Beato et al, 2018;Palucci Vieira et al, 2020).…”

Lateral Preference and Inter-limb Asymmetry in Completing Technical Tasks During Official Professional Futsal Matches: The Role of Playing Position and Opponent Quality

“…Thus, studies based on soccer players may not be pertinent to the playing characteristics of futsal players. Importantly, futsal players also perform a substantial amount of match-play activity at high speed (Barbero-Alvarez et al, 2008 ; Vieira et al, 2017 ; Palucci Vieira et al, 2021 ), increasing overall game demands and constraining athletes to avoid delayed decision-making and engage in quick and complete ball possession technical actions (Duarte et al, 2009 ; Gómez et al, 2015b ; Balyan and Vural, 2018 ; Yiannaki et al, 2018 ). Considering the high-pressure and short time and space for futsal decision-making, futsal players may often be forced to use both dominant and non-dominant limbs during the game.…”