Comparison Of Health-Related And Skill-Related Physical Fitness Status Of Elite Youth Under-17 Ethiopian Football Players Across Four Different Positions Of Play

Abstract

The purpose of the current study was to investigate health-related and skill-related such as strength endurance,
flexibility, and agility, speed physical fitness of elite youth under-17 Ethiopian football players across four
different positions considered as fullback, center back, midfield, and striker. The current study employed a crosssectional survey design with a purposive sampling technique to obtain the required data. Thus, 75 (62.5%)
volunteer elite youth under-17 players were selected from five elite youth under-17 football clubs. There were
statistically significant differences among positions of play in agility, F (3, 71) = 2.92, P < .05; flexibility, F (3, 71)
= 2.65, P < .05; and speed, F (3, 71) = 2.89, P < .05. However, there was no statistically significant difference in
strength endurance across four different positions of players. We suggest that Ethiopian elite youth U-17
football coaches should test and record fitness profile of players vis-à-vis their position of play and identify
players’ individual level of fitness in comparison to the demand of contemporary football game in general and
their positions of play in particular.