2020
DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2020.591072
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Origins of Relative Age Effects in Youth Football—A Nationwide Analysis

Abstract: Introduction: Relative age effects (RAEs) refer to the overrepresentation of players born earlier in the selection year compared to late-born players within the same age category. To date, the origins and mechanisms of RAEs are still unclear. To evaluate the development of RAEs in terms of age group and selection level, we analyzed data of all registered child and adolescent football players in Switzerland.Methods: Age category, selection level, and birthdate from all licensed 101,991 Swiss child and youth foo… Show more

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Cited by 24 publications
(40 citation statements)
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“…The high correlations between the birth frequency and relative age in all four birth cohorts (0.92 ≤ |r| ≤ 0.95) confirm the presence of the RAE in our cohort and are consistent with the findings of previous research on RAEs in preselected samples of talented athletes, including players involved in nationwide talent promotion programs (Lovell et al, 2015;Romann et al, 2020), youth academy players (Augste and Lames, 2011;Parr et al, 2020), youth national team players (Höner et al, 2017), and adults at a professional level (Helsen et al, 2005;Doyle and Bottomley, 2018). Although the overrepresentation of players born earlier in the year was found for CC players within the present study (average birth week between 21.7 and 23.2, 20 ≤ Mdn ≤ 23, depending on age class), the magnitude of the effect was smaller than that sometimes reported previously in studies that have examined higher levels of performance.…”
Section: Extent Of Relative Age Effectsupporting
confidence: 91%
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“…The high correlations between the birth frequency and relative age in all four birth cohorts (0.92 ≤ |r| ≤ 0.95) confirm the presence of the RAE in our cohort and are consistent with the findings of previous research on RAEs in preselected samples of talented athletes, including players involved in nationwide talent promotion programs (Lovell et al, 2015;Romann et al, 2020), youth academy players (Augste and Lames, 2011;Parr et al, 2020), youth national team players (Höner et al, 2017), and adults at a professional level (Helsen et al, 2005;Doyle and Bottomley, 2018). Although the overrepresentation of players born earlier in the year was found for CC players within the present study (average birth week between 21.7 and 23.2, 20 ≤ Mdn ≤ 23, depending on age class), the magnitude of the effect was smaller than that sometimes reported previously in studies that have examined higher levels of performance.…”
Section: Extent Of Relative Age Effectsupporting
confidence: 91%
“…This also aligns with previous literature. The RAE is already present in the first selections for a talent promotion program or youth academy in early adolescence (Romann et al, 2020). This overrepresentation of older athletes remains at a high level from early to middle adolescence (Votteler and Höner, 2017; and found in the present study) and decreases but is still present in older age classes or adulthood (Höner et al, 2017;Doyle and Bottomley, 2018).…”
Section: Extent Of Relative Age Effectsupporting
confidence: 66%
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“…It might be more beneficial for policymakers to promote sports programs where the RAE does not exist, thereby enabling more children to join the programs and enjoy early positive sports experiences. It has already been argued that a number of factors, among them the popularity of a given sport, the number of active participants, the importance of physical development, and the competitive level, may influence the magnitude of the RAE (Musch and Grondin, 2001 ; Romann et al, 2020 ). Apparently, the RAE that was found in basketball, soccer, and team handball in the current study is associated with the high rates of participation and high selection pressure in these sports.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…Research suggests that the RAE is increasingly prevalent as the level of competition standard improves and on male athletes. Some studies have explored the RAE using nationwide data (e.g., Finnegan et al, 2017;Romann et al, 2020;Dugdale et al, 2021). However, no study so far has analyzed original data at the level of a National sports governing body structure on both genders and football codes (i.e., soccer and futsal), and including data from National teams.…”
Section: Introductionmentioning
confidence: 99%