IngentaConnect The relative age effect in youth soccer across Europe

Authors: Helsen, Werner¹; van Winckel, Jan¹; Williams, A Mark²

Source: Journal of Sports Sciences, Volume 23, Number 6, June 2005 , pp. 629-636(8)

Abstract:

The potential asymmetries in the birth-date distributions of youth soccer players across ten European countries (2175 age citations) were considered. First, we examined the birth-dates of players representing national youth teams in international competitions. Second, the birth-dates of players representing professional club teams in international youth tournaments were analysed. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to assess differences between observed and expected birth-date distributions. Regression analyses were employed to examine the relationship between month of birth and number of players in the different samples. The results showed an over-representation of players born in the first quarter of the selection year (from January to March) for all the national youth selections at the under-15 (U-15), U-16, U-17 and U-18 age categories, as well as for the UEFA U-16 tournaments and Meridian Cup. Players with a greater relative age are more likely to be identified as “talented” because of the likely physical advantages they have over their “younger” peers. Some options for reducing the relative age effect are offered.

Keywords: Performance; player selection; seasonal variation; talent identification

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1080/02640410400021310

Affiliations: 1: Department of Kinesiology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium 2: Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK

The full text electronic article is available for purchase. You will be able to download the full text electronic article after payment.

$38.34 plus tax Refund Policy