Monitoring the exercise load of elite female football players in the Czech Republic
The interest in women's football in our country and the world is constantly growing. The number of active female players has risen by about a third in the last ten years. FIFA has committed to increase the number of female football players from approximately 15 million today to 60 million worldwide by 2026. Financial support from the world, continental, and national football associations is constantly increasing, and women's football is receiving more and more attention.
Given the growing interest of women and girls in football, we need to objectively assess the physical load on women and adapt the training process. Our project is focused on monitoring the movement load of girls and women in elite football competitions in the Czech Republic. Via using GPS vests, we can monitor the movement of players in the field with great accuracy.
Preliminary results of our research suggest that adult female players run an average distance of 10.5 km during the match, which is similar to men's performance. The differences between more and less successful teams are mainly in the distance that players overcome at high speeds and the number of sprints that they are able or willing to complete during the match. The obtained data also point to relatively high differences with respect to the players' position in the match.
