Innovative Study Aims to Accelerate Women’s Football Through Science and Technology

A COLLABORATIVE STUDY BETWEEN

PROJECT INTRODUCTION

Bridging the Gap in Women’s Football Performance Insights

As women’s football continues to evolve with a focus on pressing tactics and faster gameplay, the emphasis on Speed, Agility, and Quickness becomes even more critical for footballers. On that, this study comes at the exact right moment.

Today, a large portion of assumptions for women’s football performance is based on male studies and male data. In an collaborative effort, a team of Swedish and Portuguese sports scientists, physiotherapists, together with Photon Sports have embarked on a (hopefully) groundbreaking study designed to develop testing and training strategies for women’s football.

Read Project Description

“By better understanding and optimising movement profiles and patterns, we can push the boundaries of performance in women’s football. With the right insights and training methods, we can make the game faster and more explosive, while hopefully reducing risk of injury.”

Dan Fransson, PhD Gothenburg University | Head of Performance, IF Elfsborg

FOUR YEARS | FOUR PHASES

A Multi-Phase Approach to Enhance Performance and Reduce Risk of Injury

Phase 1: Identify movement patterns during match.

Analysing top footballers’ explosive movement patterns and locomotor profile during gameplay using game data and video footage.

Phase 2: Compare training patterns vs match patterns.

Utilise data from the pilot study to create valid and reliable football- and position specific tests.

Phase 3: Test players on their performance on relevant patterns.

Evaluate the efficacy of representative tests across different tiers of elite female football competition, utilizing an updated version of Photon Sports software.

Phase 4: Investigate the effect of two different training protocols.

Investigate the effect of two different training protocols based on representative tests and traditional tests to increase football-specific explosive capacity in trained female football players and its transfer to the match.

News

Current Project Status

Introducing: Innovative Study to Accelerate Women’s Football Through Science and Technology

As women's football continues to evolve with a focus on pressing tactics and faster gameplay, the emphasis on Speed, Agility, and Quickness becomes even more critical for footballers. On that, this study comes at the exact right moment.Read more

Helena Andersson, Photo: Carl Sandin/Bildbyrån

Unique pilot study provides new insights on Swedish female elite players’ explosive capacities

We are happy to announce that Photon Sports, in collaboration with Elitfotboll Dam (the association of women's elite football in Sweden), conducted over 8,500 tests during the previous season of OBOS Damallsvenskan, the top division of women's football in Sweden.Read more

“We see a great opportunity in developing next generation of tests and training protocols, tailored for women’s game. We are no longer constrained by the technology, and today we can optimise testing and training strategies without compromising.”