Physical performances and anthropometric characteristics of young elite North-African female soccer players compared with international standards

The reasons why North African women's football teams do not progress to the final phases of world cup competitions may be related to anthropometry and physical fitness. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare anthropometric and physical fitness characteristics of young elite Tunisian female players with age-specific international standards. Twenty-four elite female players from the Tunisian national under 17 team (U17; 16.5±0.4 y) participated in this study. Players were tested for anthropometry (body mass, body composition), football-specific cardiorespiratory endurance (Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1; YYIRT1), power (countermovement jump, CMJ; squat-jump, SqJ; five-jump-test, 5JT), agility (t-test with and without ball), soccer skill (Loughborough Soccer Passing Test, LSPT) and speed (30m sprint with 5 and 10m splits). The results show that body mass and body fat percentage of Tunisian U17 elite female soccer players are higher than international standards and that endurance qualities and agility performances are similar to international data for the same age. However, in terms of strength and speed, performances of Tunisian female players are low or even very low compared with international standards. Consequently, physical training programmes of Tunisian female soccer should focus on increasing strength and speed fitness to be ready for international soccer competitions. Les raisons pour lesquelles les équipes féminines nord-africaines ne se qualifient pas pour les phases finales des compétitions mondiales peuvent être expliquées par plusieurs facteurs l’anthropométrie ou les performances physiques. Par conséquent, le but de cette étude est de comparer les caractéristiques anthropométriques et les qualités physiques des jeunes joueuses élites tunisiennes aux normes internationales. Vingt-quatre joueuses de l’équipe nationale tunisienne de moins de 17 ans (16,5±0,4 ans) ont participé à cette étude. Les joueuses ont été testées sur le plan anthropométrique (taille, poids et pourcentage de masse grasse), endurance cardiorespiratoire spécifique au football (yo-yo intermittemps test niveau 1 ; YYIRT1), puissance musculaire (Squat jump, Contermouvement jump ; Five Jump test), agilité (t-test avec et sans ballon), habileté au football (Loughborough Soccer Passing Test, LSPT) et tests de vitesse (sprint 30m avec des temps intermédiaires à 5 et 10m). Les résultats montrent que la masse corporelle ainsi que le pourcentage de masse grasse des fo