Abstract
Purpose: Travel fatigue impacts cognitive and physiologic systems, but its association to elite soccer match performance is unclear. In this retrospective, observational study, we aimed to explore the association between travel and match outcomes in elite North American soccer.
Methods: Travel data, match (team points or goals scored and conceded) and physical performance outcomes from 26 elite professional soccer teams, and their players were analyzed (148 matches [team-based data] and 1252 player-matches from 297 players; age 22.7 ± SD 4.5). Player-level and match-level correlations between performance measures and both acute and cumulated travel metrics were analyzed.
Results: Cumulative travel metrics were positively associated with team (travel distance [r = 0.20; 95% confidence intervals 0.03 to 0.25], travel time [r = 0.20; 0.06 to 0.37] and time away [r = 0.20; 0.06 to 0.37]) and individual player (travel distance, [r = 0.14; 0.08 to 0.19], travel time [r = 0.17 to 0.23] and time away [r = 0.13; 0.07 to 0.18]) high intensity running. Cumulative time away was negatively associated with team points (r = -0.14; -0.28 to -0.001) and positively associated with goals conceded (r = 0.14; 0.01 to 0.27), no clear association between acute travel metrics and match outcomes or physical performance were observed.
Conclusions: As travel cumulates, away teams and their players ran more but for less reward (team points), though the magnitude of these associations were small. These data are exploratory and do not imply causal relationship however, further research should consider cumulation of travel.
Methods: Travel data, match (team points or goals scored and conceded) and physical performance outcomes from 26 elite professional soccer teams, and their players were analyzed (148 matches [team-based data] and 1252 player-matches from 297 players; age 22.7 ± SD 4.5). Player-level and match-level correlations between performance measures and both acute and cumulated travel metrics were analyzed.
Results: Cumulative travel metrics were positively associated with team (travel distance [r = 0.20; 95% confidence intervals 0.03 to 0.25], travel time [r = 0.20; 0.06 to 0.37] and time away [r = 0.20; 0.06 to 0.37]) and individual player (travel distance, [r = 0.14; 0.08 to 0.19], travel time [r = 0.17 to 0.23] and time away [r = 0.13; 0.07 to 0.18]) high intensity running. Cumulative time away was negatively associated with team points (r = -0.14; -0.28 to -0.001) and positively associated with goals conceded (r = 0.14; 0.01 to 0.27), no clear association between acute travel metrics and match outcomes or physical performance were observed.
Conclusions: As travel cumulates, away teams and their players ran more but for less reward (team points), though the magnitude of these associations were small. These data are exploratory and do not imply causal relationship however, further research should consider cumulation of travel.
| Original language | English |
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| Journal | International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance |
| Publication status | Accepted/In press - 19 May 2024 |