Road to FIFA Women’s World Cup: A Case Study on Changes in Body Composition and Physical Performance Measures in Elite Female Soccer Players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a 4-month training period on the body composition and physical performance of elite female soccer players during their preparation for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Twenty-seven players of a women’s national soccer team volunteered to participate in this study. Subjects were tested at 3-time points (i.e., time-point 1, time-point 2, and timepoint 3) for body composition (sum of 6 skinfolds [+6SF] measures), maximal dynamic strength (i.e., squat 1 repetition maximum [squat 1RM]), countermovement jump (CMJ), and 10-m sprint performance. Our results demonstrated substantial improvements in body composition (i.e., reduced +6SF and fat mass percentage and increased muscle mass percentage [MM%]), strength (i.e., enhanced absolute and relative squat 1RM), speed and jump performance (i.e., decreased sprint times and increased CMJ height) (p , 0.001; effect size: very large) at the different time points. Post hoc analyses revealed that all measured parameters varied significantly from TP1 to TP2 and TP3 (p: 0.006 to ,0.001), except for MM% and CMJ height between TP1 and TP2 (p . 0.299). In conclusion, these findings highlight the effectiveness of the 4-month training period in enhancing the overall performance of the female soccer players. Furthermore, it is plausible to suggest that the changes in anthropometric and body composition parameters were directly related to the improvements observed in physical performance measures.