OOIR: Observatory of International Research

Papers

(The median citation count of Science and Medicine in Football is 3. The table below lists those papers that are above that threshold based on CrossRef citation counts [max. 250 papers]. The publications cover those that have been published in the past four years, i.e., from 2020-11-01 to 2024-11-01.)

Article	Citations
Research on women’s football: a scoping review	50
Injuries are negatively associated with player progression in an elite football academy	36
Evolution of physical and technical parameters in the Spanish LaLiga 2012-2019	29
Linear advancing actions followed by deceleration and turn are the most common movements preceding goals in male professional soccer	28
Acceleration and deceleration demands during training sessions in football: a systematic review	27
Dealing with small samples in football research	27
One of these things is not like the other: time to differentiate between relative age and biological maturity selection biases in soccer?	26
Detraining of specific neuromuscular qualities in elite footballers during COVID-19 quarantine	25
The psychological impact of COVID-19 infection on athletes: example of professional male football players	22
Carbohydrate fear, skinfold targets and body image issues: a qualitative analysis of player and stakeholder perceptions of the nutrition culture within elite female soccer	21
Do elite soccer players cover less distance when their team spent more time in possession of the ball?	19
An audit of hormonal contraceptive use in Women’s Super League soccer players; implications on symptomology	19
A league-wide investigation into variability of rugby league match running from 322 Super League games	18
An analysis of Bundesliga matches before and after social distancing by COVID-19	17
The effect of bio-banding on physical and psychological indicators of talent identification in academy soccer players	16
Change of direction frequency off the ball: new perspectives in elite youth soccer	16
Heading incidence in boys’ football over three seasons	15
Elite female football players’ perception of the impact of their menstrual cycle stages on their football performance. A semi-structured interview-based study	15
Missing data: current practice in football research and recommendations for improvement	15
Progression to the target vs. regular rules in Soccer small-sided Games	15
Exploring Factors Related to Goal Scoring Opportunities in Professional Football	14
Talent map: how demographic rate, human development index and birthdate can be decisive for the identification and development of soccer players in Brazil	14
Immediate effects of an acute bout of repeated soccer heading on cognitive performance	14
Does playing football (soccer) lead to SARS-CoV-2 transmission? - A case study of 3 matches with 18 infected football players -	13
Estimating is not measuring: the use of non-invasive estimations of somatic maturity in youth football	13

The variability of physical match demands in elite women’s football	13
A risk-reward assessment of passing decisions: comparison between positional roles using tracking data from professional men’s soccer	12
The effect of bio-banding on technical and tactical indicators of talent identification in academy soccer players	12
Research in Another un-Examined (RAE) context. A chronology of 35 years of relative age effect research in soccer: is it time to move on?	11
Quantifying technical actions in professional soccer using foot-mounted inertial measurement units	11
Interchangeability of player movement variables from different athlete tracking systems in professional soccer	11
Relative age effects and the youth-to-senior transition in Italian soccer: the underdog hypothesis versus knock-on effects of relative age	11
Perceiving, reporting and managing an injury – perspectives from national team football players, coaches, and health professionals	11
Impact of COVID-19 lockdown on professional soccer players’ match physical activities	11
The effect of stroboscopic vision on performance in a football specific assessment	10
Examining the mental health status of referees in the turkish professional football league	10
The effect of ball characteristics on head acceleration during purposeful heading in male and female youth football players	10
The effectiveness of 3D multiple object tracking training on decision-making in soccer	10
Mental stress reduces performance and changes musculoskeletal loading in football-related movements	10
Mind the gap! A survey comparing current strength training methods used in men’s versus women’s first team and academy soccer	10
Isokinetic hamstring and quadriceps strength interpretation guideline for football (soccer) players with ACL reconstruction: a Delphi consensus study in the Netherlands	10
Tactical analysis of individual and team behaviour in professional Australian Football	9
Normalising the conversation: a qualitative analysis of player and stakeholder perceptions of menstrual health support within elite female soccer	9
Quantification of internal and external training load during a training camp in senior international female footballers	9
Elite female footballers in England: an exploration of mental ill-health and help-seeking intentions	9
Physical match performance and injuries in professional soccer before and after the COVID-19 break	9
Resilience as a protective factor for well-being and emotional stability in elite-level football players during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic	9
The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on soccer positional and physical demands in the Spanish La Liga	9
Forecasting football injuries by combining screening, monitoring and machine learning	9
The keys of pressing to gain the ball – Characteristics of defensive pressure in elite soccer using tracking data	9
Inter-methodological quantification of the target change for performance test outcomes relevant to elite female soccer players	8
Physical fitness profiles of female Australian football players across five competition levels	8
Maturation, signal detection, and tactical behavior of young soccer players in the game context	8
Handling and reporting missing data in training load and injury risk research	8
The menstrual cycle and football: The experiences of African women football players	8
Fundamental movement skills and perceived competence, but not fitness, are the key factors associated with technical skill performance in boys who play grassroots soccer	8
How spatial constraints afford successful and unsuccessful penetrative passes in elite association football	8
Analysis of defensive playing styles in the professional Chinese Football Super League	8
Video analysis of anterior cruciate ligament injury situations in the women’s Australian football league	8
The influence of relative playing area and player numerical imbalance on physical and perceptual demands in soccer small-sided game formats	7
Perspectives of the barriers and enablers to nutritional adherence in professional male academy football players	7
Evaluation of nutrition knowledge in elite and sub-elite Gaelic football players	7
Reference values for performance test outcomes relevant to English female soccer players	7
Bout duration and number of players of soccer small-sided games affect perceived enjoyment, physiological responses, and technical-tactical performance	7
Relationship between training load and recovery in collegiate American football players during pre-season training	7
Mental health and well-being during COVID-19 lockdown: A survey case report of high-level male and female players of an Italian Serie A football club	6
The maturity status but not the relative age influences elite young football players’ physical performance	6
A holistic analysis of collective behaviour and team performance in Australian Football via structural equation modelling	6
Exploring the role of socioeconomic status and psychological characteristics on talent development in an English soccer academy	6
Locomotor and technical characteristics of female soccer players training: exploration of differences between competition standards	6
Understanding the FIFA quality performance reports for electronic performance and tracking systems: from science to practice	6
Collective behaviour in high and low-level youth soccer teams	6
Nutrition knowledge of elite and non-elite Gaelic footballers	6
Low sleep quality and morningness-eveningness scale score may impair ball placement but not kicking velocity in youth academy soccer players	6
Physical demands on professional Spanish football referees during matches	6

An audit of performance nutrition services in English soccer academies: implications for optimising player development	6
Do environmental temperatures and altitudes affect physical outputs of elite football athletes in match conditions? A systematic review of the ‘real world’ studies	6
Physical demands in Spanish male and female elite football referees during the competition: a prospective observational study	6
Part 2 of the 11+ as an effective home-based exercise programme in elite academy football (soccer) players: a one-club matched-paired randomised controlled trial	6
A video analysis framework for the rugby league tackle	5
When and how do professional soccer players experience maximal intensity sprints in LaLiga?	5
The effect of team formation on match running performance in UEFA Champions League matches: implications for position-specific conditioning	5
‘Benched’ the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on injury incidence in sub-elite football in Australia: a retrospective population study using injury insurance records	5
Technical involvements and pressure applied influence movement demands in elite Australian Football Match-play	5
Prediction of defensive success in elite soccer using machine learning - Tactical analysis of defensive play using tracking data and explainable AI	5
Acute fuelling and recovery practices of academy soccer players: implications for growth, maturation, and physical performance	5
Heading and risk of injury situations for the head in professional German football: a video analysis of over 150,000 headers in 110,000 match minutes	5
Sport-related concussion return-to-play practices of medical team staff in elite football in the United Kingdom	5
The relative age effect in male and female English age-grade rugby union: Exploring the gender-specific mechanisms that underpin participation	5
Prevalence and burden of health problems in top-level football referees	5
The incidence and burden of injuries in elite English youth female soccer players	5
Monitoring the beautiful adapted game: a 3-year prospective surveillance study of injuries in elite English Para football	5
Sport-related concussion practices of medical team staff in elite football in the United Kingdom, a pilot study	5
Effect of ball inclusion on jump performance in soccer players: a biomechanical approach	5
Lessons from establishing a football-specific registry of anterior cruciate ligament injuries - data collection and first epidemiological data	5
A valid and reliable test of technical skill for vision impaired football	5
Age- and size-corrected kicking speed and accuracy in elite junior soccer players	5
The relative age effect in under-17, under-20, and adult elite female soccer players	4
Driving the future of health and performance in Women’s football	4
Serum neurofilament light concentration does not increase following exposure to low velocity football heading	4
Energy availability and macronutrient intake in elite male Gaelic football players	4
Measures of (injury and illness) occurrence: a primer on epidemiological concepts and terminology for authors	4
A multi-club analysis of the locomotor training characteristics of elite female soccer players	4
A preliminary study of the reliability of soccer skill tests within a modified soccer match simulation protocol	4
Environmental surface contamination with SARS-CoV-2 in professional football clubs	4
Associations between refined athlete monitoring measures and individual match performance in professional Australian football	4
Sport-related concussion attitudes and knowledge in elite English female footballers	4
Perceptions of Professional Football Players on Injury Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies	4
Surveillance for COVID-19 in the English Football League 2019-2020	4
Injury incidence and prevalence in Finnish top-level football – one-season prospective cohort study	4
Quantifying change of direction load using positional data from small-sided games in soccer	3
Identification of potential risk factors for lower limb injuries in female team-sport athletes: a prospective cohort study	3
The introduction of the six-again rule has increased acceleration intensity across all positions in the National Rugby League competition	3
Classification and determinants of passing difficulty in soccer: a multivariate approach	3
Interchangeability of optical tracking technologies: potential overestimation of the sprint running load demands in the English Premier League	3
Where do you go when your periods go?: A case-study examining secondary amenorrhea in a professional internationally-capped female soccer player through the lens of the sport nutritionist	3
Effectiveness of wearable technology to optimize youth soccer players’ off-training behaviour and training responses: a parallel group randomized trial	3
Load monitoring, strength training, and recovery in futsal: Practitioners’ perspectives	3
No independent or synergistic effects of carbohydrate-caffeine mouth rinse on repeated sprint performance during simulated soccer match play in male recreational soccer players	3
Oral contraceptive use in Premiership and Championship women’s rugby union: perceived symptomology, management strategies, and performance and wellness effects	3
The emergence of critical incidents in Rugby Union matches using Markov chain analysis	3
Exploring the true burden of a time-loss injury: full vs partial time-loss in elite academy football (soccer)	3
Exploring sports nutritionists’ and players’ perspectives of nutrition practice within English professional football during the COVID-19 pandemic	3
Match activity profile and heart rate responses of top-level soccer referees during Brazilian national first and second division and regional championships	3
Contextual factors and match-physical performance of international-level footballers with cerebral palsy	3
Are there differences in the attention of elite football players concerning playing positions?	3
Incidence of concussion and associated risk factors in collegiate soccer: findings from the NCAA-DoD CARE consortium	3
Determining age-specific velocity thresholds for elite youth female soccer players	3
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in football – a “Keeping SCORE” approach to judicious use	3
Soccer coaches vs. sport science and medicine staff: who can more accurately predict the skeletal age of high-level youth soccer players?	3
The development of metrics for measuring the level of symmetry in team formation and ball movement flow, and their association with performance	3
How fast is fast? Defining velocity zones in women’s rugby league	3
The impact of simulated soccer match-play on hip and hamstring strength in academy soccer players	3