Birth month distribution and anthropometric measures of U-15 national elite soccer players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the birth month distribution and anthropometric measurements of U-15 elite soccer players. The sample consisted of 400 athletes (15.4 ± 0.4 years, 171.0 ± 10.6 cm and 63.0 ± 8.8 kg) participants of the 11th edition of the Brazil U-15 Soccer Cup, who had their birth month information and height and body mass measures obtained from data available on the organization’s website. Athletes were separated according to the categorization of chronological age into four-month periods: 1st quarter (1st QDT), athletes born between January and April; 2nd quarter (2nd QDT), those born between May and August, and 3rd quarter (3rd QDT), those born between September and December. The non-parametric chi-square test (X2) was used to analyze the possible differences between observed and expected birth date distributions in the four-month periods. The significance level was P<0.05. The results show that the number of players born in 1st QDT was higher when compared to 2nd QDT and 3rd QDT (P<0.05), and higher when compared to 2nd QDT with 3rd QDT (P<0.05). For variables height and body mass, it was observed that players born in 1st QDT presented values significantly higher than those born in 2nd QDT and 3rd QDT (P<0.05). In the same way, players born in 2nd QDT presented higher values than those born in 3rd QDT (P<0.05).It could be concluded that the relative age effect exerts an influence on the selection of Brazilian U-15 soccer players because it is associated with differences in the anthropometric characteristics of these young players.