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Travel demands of Australian professional footballers based on club geographical location travelling to a national team commitment over a two-year period (n = 244)
Source publication
Elite football (soccer) involves club, continental and international fixtures, requiring players to undertake extensive travel [1]. For a national football federation, this includes the transport of players between club and camp/tournament commitments, which is often a point of contention between respective organisations [2]. Partly this contention...
Contexts in source publication
Context 1
... significant effect of player location on time zone change was observed for both outbound (H = 10.18, p = 0.006; Table 1) and return (H = 7.505, p = 0.023; Table 2) travel. Asian-based players crossed significantly fewer time zones than Australian-(p = 0.042) ...Context 2
... differences for total travel time existed for both outbound (Table 1) and return (Table 2) Australian-based players had significantly greater return travel of this study is to describe the nature and extent of travel performed by Australian national team football players for international duties over a two-year period. In addition, this study compared the travel demands for national duties between players based in Australian (domestic), Asian and European club locations. ...Citations
... Players were asked to rate their current level of fatigue, soreness, sleep quality, and stress as used in prior works. 16,19 A "Total Wellness" score was calculated from the sum of each of the individual scales. Athletes were also asked to complete the Perceived Recovery Status Scale 20 each day from the day before a match through to 3 days after the match. ...
Purpose:
This study investigated the relationship between travel demands and match loads on perceptual recovery, fatigue, and sleep following postmatch travel in national football teams. In addition, the influence of travel demands and the time between match kickoff and travel departure on postmatch recovery was examined.
Methods:
Match-running load (via GPS) and travel data were obtained from 79 male national-team footballers. Postmatch travel duration, direction, context, time-zone difference, and time between kickoff and travel departure were collated. Athletes provided perceptual ratings of fatigue, soreness, sleep, stress, and recovery from 1 day prematch through to 3 days after postmatch travel. Linear mixed models assessed the influence of match load and travel on perceptual ratings for 3 days posttravel. Additional models assessed a standardized postmatch time point of match day + 3 to determine whether timing and extent of travel influenced recovery.
Results:
Higher match loads were associated with poorer recovery, fatigue, soreness, and sleep (P = .001-.032). Athletes reported poorer fatigue, soreness, and recovery when traveling from national teams back to clubs compared with between national-team matches (P < .001). Traveling eastward was associated with poorer sleep (P = .004). Longer periods between kickoff and travel departure were associated with poorer sleep on match day + 3 (P = .003).
Conclusions:
Perceptual recovery, fatigue, sleep, and soreness following postmatch travel were affected by both match load and travel demands. Greater match loads and eastward postmatch travel may impair recovery. In addition, departing later after a match was associated with poorer sleep on match day + 3; however, no relationships existed to any other recovery measures.
... National team staff should plan optimal travel conditions. 6 Selecting a comfortable seat (e.g., business class), giving preference to travel in charter flights, reducing the number of stopovers, finding the optimal flight times, providing the players with personalized trip plans, supplement packs, blue light filtering glasses, and other commercially available devices that stimulate blood circulation and prevent jet lag are highly recommended travel management strategies. ...
... International football (soccer) matches require selected players to undertake travel directly from clubs to national-team camps, often arriving with only a few days to recover and prepare for the match. 1 Such situations can place significant stress on the athlete and may risk reduced physical and technical performance when playing for their national team and may also occur for some club teams. 2 These performance concerns relate to the potential for increased physical and mental fatigue caused by jet lag, travel fatigue, and disrupted sleep that are common following extensive travel. 3 Additionally, with often only 2 to 5 days of camp to prepare for matches, training and preparation following travel to nationalteam matches is challenging. ...
Purpose:
This study examined the relationship of prematch travel and in-camp training on ensuing physical and technical match performance of footballers (soccer) competing for a national team.
Methods:
Match running and technical performance data were obtained from 68 national-team footballers competing in international matches (N = 108). Match performance data were aligned with the confirmed travel durations, time-zone change, travel direction, and time between arrival and kickoff for the travel to the match. In addition, in-camp training load from the 3 days prior to national-team matches was also collated. Linear mixed models assessed relationships between travel and training measures with physical and technical match performance outcomes.
Results:
Travel variables explained little variance in outcomes (R2 = .02-.16). Traveling eastward was associated with an increase in total (P = .042) and very high-speed distance (P = .030) in matches and a 5% decrease in pass accuracy (P = .012). Greater time-zone difference was associated with increased match decelerations (P = .027), while arriving later for matches was associated with increased total (P = .041) tackles. Increases in training high-speed distance were associated with increases in match high-speed distance (P = .004) and number of decelerations (P < .001). An increase in training total distance was associated with a decrease in match decelerations (P = .002).
Conclusions:
Prematch travel appeared to have minimal effects on physical and technical performance in this national team. Training loads prior to matches may have some relationship with match running performance, and, thus, readiness to train should be a priority for athletes arriving in national-team camps.
... Furthermore, 65% of players felt that international travel had a negative impact on their recovery, performance, or health [6]. According to a study conducted with the Australian men's national football team, footballers playing domestic football in Europe made an average of 9.3 nine-hour flights across multiple time zones to participate with the national team during a two-year period [7]. While an association between travel and injuries has not been established, extensive travel across multiple countries and continents is likely to have a negative impact on the performance and wellness of professional footballers [8,9]. ...
There are concerns over the impact of the congested international match calendar on professional footballers' physical and mental well-being, and injury susceptibility. This study aimed to determine whether there were differences in match workload and international travel between injured and non-injured male football players over two elite competition seasons. An observational, retrospective , case-control study was conducted using data from the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 seasons of five top-tier European men's football leagues. Student t-tests were used to compare cumulative match workload and international travel data over a 28-day period preceding 1270 injuries and 2540 controls. There were significant differences in match workload and international travel variables between the injured groups (all injuries and hamstring injuries) and the control group. Match workload variables were higher (p < 0.01), recovery variables lower (p < 0.01), and international travel variables higher (p < 0.01). An overload of match workload and international travel contribute to increased injury susceptibility in professional men's football. This emphasizes the need to address international match calendar concerns, including the number of games per season, the frequency of back-to-back games, and international travel requirements. Additionally, the findings highlight the importance of monitoring player match workloads, and implementing squad rotations and tailored training programs to mitigate injury risks.
... For many non-European national teams, travel often follows particular patterns, whereby players located in a range of countries will travel common paths based on club and competition locations. 6 Prior research has identified a detrimental effect of time zone change and direction of travel on jet lag/travel fatigue symptoms following arrival in the club or national team. 2,7,8 Specific flight details for national teams are often determined at the last minute, and therefore only the general location an athlete is traveling to and from is known to practitioners until the trip is finalized. ...
Purpose:
This study examined posttravel perceptual responses of national-team footballers (soccer) following different flight paths, arrival/departure times, and trip contexts.
Methods:
Details of 396 flights from national-team players (N = 68) were obtained and verified via an online flight database. Each player provided ratings of perceptual fatigue, sleep, soreness, stress, and jet lag for 2 days before and after each trip. The flight path (continents of departure and arrival), travel context (into vs out of national team), and arrival and departure times were obtained for each trip. Linear mixed models compared the pretravel with posttravel change in perceptual responses based on flight path, context, and schedule.
Results:
Perceived jet-lag ratings were more responsive to travel variables (R2 = .48) than other perceptual ratings (R2 < .26). Travel from Asia to Europe (P < .05) and Europe to Australia (P < .001) had significantly higher jet-lag ratings than all other paths. Fatigue scores were worst following Asia to Europe (P < .05) and Europe to Australia (P < .05) travel, while sleep scores were worst following Europe to Australia travel (P < .01). Perceptual responses were poorer following travel from national team to club compared with all other travel contexts (P < .05). Arrival during the daytime (11 AM to 5 PM) resulted in better perceptual responses than early-morning or late-night arrivals (P < .05).
Conclusions:
Perceived jet-lag ratings are more responsive to travel demands than perceptual wellness scales in national-team football athletes. Poorer perceptual responses may be expected when travel is longer in nature, ends later in the day, or involves travel out of the national team back to club.
