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Advances in Football Science: Integrating Technology, Performance, and Well-Being (2nd...
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Advances in Football Science: Integrating Technology, Performance, and Well-Being (2nd Edition)

A special issue of Sports (ISSN 2075-4663).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 November 2026 | Viewed by 1523

Editors

Dr. José Eduardo Teixeira

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sports Sciences Polytechnic of Guarda, 6300-559 Guarda, Portugal
Interests: training load; team sports; football; sports medicine; performance; monitoring; metabolic diseases; cardiovascular diseases; epidemology; public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Luís Branquinho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Biosciences Higher School of Elvas, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, 7300-110 Portalegre, Portugal
Interests: public health; sport psychology; sports medicine
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Never before has science and technology been as integral to football as they are today. This is driven by growing scientific evidence on training, performance, and their application across diverse fields in sports science, including performance analysis, sports medicine, rehabilitation, psychology, education, biomechanics, and exercise physiology. Modern approaches emphasize an integrated strategy to address the multifactorial nature of football performance, combining technical-tactical skills with perceptual, psychophysiological, and wellness determinants. Football medicine focuses on injury prevention, rehabilitation, return-to-play frameworks, and improving players' well-being through strategies targeting recovery, travel effects, nutrition, sleep, strength, and conditioning. Additionally, advancements in wearable technology and tracking systems have revolutionized training load monitoring, match analysis, talent identification, and training design. AI-driven analytics aid in talent identification, tactical insights, and individualized training programs, providing deeper, data-driven approaches to optimizing performance. By embracing evidence-based innovations, we can enhance player development and push the boundaries of football performance, health and wellbeing. We invite researchers and professionals to contribute to the Special Issue: “Advances in Football Science: Integrating Technology, Performance, and Well-Being (2nd Edition)”, helping to push the boundaries of what is possible in the sport.

Dr. José Eduardo Teixeira
Dr. Luís Branquinho
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sports is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • football science
  • performance analysis
  • football medicine
  • health and wellbeing
  • strength and conditioning
  • wearable and tracking technology
  • match analysis
  • observation
  • rehabilitation strategies
  • decision-making
  • psychology
  • pedagogy
  • physiology
  • talent identification
  • scouting
  • training task design
  • artificial intelligence
  • machine learning

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 960 KB  
Article
Effects of Resisted Versus Non-Resisted Sprint Training on Countermovement Jump and Sprint Force–Velocity Profile in Youth Footballers: A Randomised Controlled Trial
by Tomas Ulloa-Guerrero, Juan S. Ruiz, Renato Rodríguez, Rafael Tadeo-Herazo, Sergio Lopez-Betancourt, Hermin Palacio-Bedoya, Samuel Gaviria-Alzate and Andrés Rojas-Jaramillo
Sports 2026, 14(7), 258; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14070258 - 23 Jun 2026
Viewed by 303
Abstract
Background: In youth football, sprint performance depends on the capacity to produce and orient force horizontally during acceleration. Resisted sprinting may preferentially target the force end of the sprint force–velocity profile, whereas free sprinting may favour velocity-oriented adaptations. Purpose: To compare the effects [...] Read more.
Background: In youth football, sprint performance depends on the capacity to produce and orient force horizontally during acceleration. Resisted sprinting may preferentially target the force end of the sprint force–velocity profile, whereas free sprinting may favour velocity-oriented adaptations. Purpose: To compare the effects of resisted versus non-resisted sprint training on sprint performance and sprint force–velocity variables in youth footballers, while monitoring countermovement jump (CMJ) as a secondary outcome. Methods: This parallel-group randomised controlled trial included 44 players from two age categories (U14, n = 21; Youth, n = 23). Within each category, players were randomly allocated to resisted sprint training (RST; U14 n = 11, Youth n = 12) or non-resisted sprint training (NRST; U14 n = 10, Youth n = 11). Both groups completed two supervised sessions per week for six weeks. Outcomes were CMJ and sprint-derived variables including maximal theoretical horizontal force (F0), maximal theoretical velocity (V0), maximal power (Pmax), measured maximal sprint velocity (Vmax), peak ratio of horizontal force (RFpeak), decrease in RF with increasing velocity (DRF), and force–velocity slope (FV). Results: CMJ remained essentially unchanged in both age categories. Sprint performance improved over time, with the pattern of adaptation generally favouring RST for force-oriented sprint mechanical variables (F0, Pmax and RFpeak), whereas improvements in Vmax were observed in both groups. In the Youth category, the FV slope differed between groups post-test (p = 0.002). Overall, resisted sprint training tended to produce larger improvements in acceleration-oriented mechanical qualities, while non-resisted sprint training was associated with more velocity-oriented adaptations. Conclusions: Low-volume resisted sprint training using a sled load of ~20% body mass was associated with more favourable adaptations in force-oriented sprint mechanical variables, whereas non-resisted sprint training tended to favour velocity-oriented characteristics. CMJ performance remained unchanged in both groups. These findings should be interpreted cautiously given the small age-stratified subgroup sizes and the single-club nature of the study. Trial registration: This study was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT07418892). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Football Science: Integrating Technology, Performance, and Well-Being (2nd Edition))
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13 pages, 2466 KB  
Article
Within-System Agreement Between Real-Time and Post-Processed Data Using Dynamix from League Optical Tracking (Hawk-Eye) in Professional Football
by Marco Beato, Paolo Troiani, Chiara Zinco, Dario Pompa, Maurizio Bertollo and Cristian Savoia
Sports 2026, 14(5), 202; https://doi.org/10.3390/sports14050202 - 15 May 2026
Viewed by 845
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the within-system agreement and interchangeability of real-time and post-processed external load metrics in elite football. Data were collected from 50 official Serie A matches using Dynamix (K-Sport World S.R.L., Pesaro, Italy), the platform for acquiring and standardizing tracking [...] Read more.
This study aimed to evaluate the within-system agreement and interchangeability of real-time and post-processed external load metrics in elite football. Data were collected from 50 official Serie A matches using Dynamix (K-Sport World S.R.L., Pesaro, Italy), the platform for acquiring and standardizing tracking inputs. SmartLive, a real-time monitoring module embedded within Dynamix, was compared with post-processed data from the league-approved optical tracking provider (Hawk-Eye Innovations Limited, Basingstoke, UK) in Serie A. The external load metrics analyzed included total distance covered; distances at speeds exceeding 15, 20, and 25 km·h−1; distances within the 15–20 km·h−1 and 20–25 km·h−1 ranges; distance covered during accelerations > 2 m·s−2 and decelerations < −2 m·s−2; and peak speed. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) demonstrated excellent agreement across all metrics, with values ranging from 0.929 to 0.999. Bland–Altman analysis revealed small mean differences between systems, indicating strong agreement. Overall, the findings confirm that both real-time and post-processed data are in close agreement across a wide range of performance metrics. Minor discrepancies were observed in intermediate speed zones and acceleration/deceleration events. This study provides the first validation of SmartLive’s within-system agreement with post-processed data, supporting its use alongside post-processed data in elite football environments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Football Science: Integrating Technology, Performance, and Well-Being (2nd Edition))
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