• Anders Biegel
4. semester, Sports Science, Master (Master Programme)
This study investigated contextual factors in relation to how birthdate and place of development influence the likelihood of playing in either a female talent center team or youth national team in Denmark in a sample consisting of Danish female youth football players. The sample included 193 football players from the Danish female talent centers (U/14 and U/15) and youth national teams (U/16, U/17 and U/19) in the season 2014-2015 and a comparison sample of female youth players from the years 1996 to 2001 registered in 2010, including 32259 players. A Chi-square test revealed a significant (P<0.05) relative age effect (RAE) for players from talent centers but no effect for the youth national team players. Odds ratio (OR) analysis indicated that players from talent centers were overrepresented in municipalities with populations 30,000-<50,000 and municipalities with a density >1,000 (pop./km2) and underrepresented in municipalities with populations 10,000-<30,000. No significant ORs were found regarding youth national team players. The results of this study suggest that a lack of selection among relatively older players and players from urban areas exists during the talent development process in female youth football.
LanguageDanish
Publication date17 Dec 2015
Number of pages53
ID: 224054806