Abstract
In 2019, numerous championships of youth categories soccer national teams were held. In the present study, we analyzed the existence of the Relative Age Effect (RAE) in four major male championships that, due to their importance and participating teams, most likely brought together the great bulk of the players who will dominate professional soccer in the next decade. Participants were professional and amateur youth male soccer players who participated in the last international championships: UEFA European Under-21 Championship (2017–2019); UEFA European Under-19 Championship (2019); South American Youth Football Championship (also known as Conmebol U-20) (2019); and FIFA U-20 World Cup (2019), with 823 players (20.25 ± 0.84 years). In the four championships analyzed, the existence of RAE was found for all players (p < 0.001). Analyzing the players when considering their position on the pitch and their championship, RAE was found, statistically significant, in 10 of the 16 classifications. New generations of elite soccer players arrive with a clear bias in the selection of talent; an unfair bias, based on unequal opportunities in early categories, which should be reviewed by sports authorities.
Highlights
Talent development is a current concern in most sports organizations, struggling to create adequate career paths for players or athletes from the grassroots
The purpose of this study is to examine the birth dates distribution and Relative Age Effect (RAE) by position and competition of professional/amateur youth male soccer players who participated in four recent international championships in different geographical regions: Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) European Under-21 Championship (2017–2019), UEFA European Under-19 Championship (2019), South American Youth Football Championship (2019), and Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) Under-20 World Cup (2019)
The physical and biological advantages that the RAE effect provides to Q1 and Q2 athletes will facilitate their adherence to the sport for longer time periods and better opportunities to reach the elite footballer status [49]
Summary
Talent development is a current concern in most sports organizations, struggling to create adequate career paths for players or athletes from the grassroots. The organizational strategy at early ages for grouping players or athletes follows a cutoff criterion, similar to most of the school systems [1] This means that players are grouped according to their date of birth instead of their physical or psychical development. The differences in growth and maturity of players result in disparities of performances, opportunities, and, unequal presence in competitions according to their age and birth month. This effect of asymmetry in the birth distribution is known as the Relative Age Effect (RAE) [2]. The cutoff is set as 1st of January in most of the competitions, so players born in the firsts months of the year have improved prospects in sports [3]
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