Talent development in female soccer: developmental activities of professional players in England

Andrew, Matthew ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2007-910X, Ford, Paul R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1673-3455, Alder, Sam E ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6101-6421, Champ, Francesca M ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9319-8292, Brownlee, Thomas E ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3355-1867, Datson, Naomi ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5507-9540 and Causer, Joe ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8939-8769 (2024) Talent development in female soccer: developmental activities of professional players in England. Journal of Sports Sciences, 42 (10). pp. 853-864. ISSN 0264-0414

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Abstract

The activities soccer players engage in during their formative years are thought to significantly contribute to the acquisition of expert performance. Whilst this area has seen great interest in male players, there has been little research in females. The study examined developmental activities engaged in by professional female soccer players in England. 56 female soccer players that had either progressed to professional status in adulthood (professional), or did not (ex-academy), completed the Participant History Questionnaire. Professional players started engaging in soccer at an earlier age than their ex-academy counterparts, resulting in greater engagement in practice and play during childhood. During adolescence, professional players engaged in higher amounts of practice than ex-academy players. Engagement in competition and practice was rated as high in physical and cognitive effort by all, yet ex-academy players reported higher levels of physical effort during early adolescence, and cognitive effort during late adolescence. Findings provide an illustration of the talent pathways of professional female soccer players in England and may inform future talent development systems. Large interindividual variation in soccer-specific and other-sport activity data highlight the importance of further understanding the environments of individual soccer nations and their potential impact on the talent identification and development processes.