Asier Gonzalez-Artetxe^1,2, Sara Lombardero^1,3, Hugo Folgado^4,5, Julen Castellano^1,2, Asier Los Arcos^1,2

¹University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Faculty of Education and Sport, Department of Physical Education and Sport, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Araba, Spain
²University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Society, Sports, and Exercise Research Group (GIKAFIT), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Araba, Spain
³Real Unión Club, Area of Strength and Conditioning, Irun, Gipuzkoa, Spain
⁴Universidade de Évora, Escola de Saúde e Desenvolvimento Humano, Departamento de Desporto e Saúde, Évora, Portugal
⁵Universidade de Évora, Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC), Évora, Portugal

Exploring possession games in women’s football: A multidimensional approach

Monten. J. Sports Sci. Med. 2026, 15(1), Ahead of Print | DOI: 10.26773/mjssm.260304

Abstract

Possession games are among the most commonly used training drills by women’s association football coaches world- wide. However, they overlook a relevant feature of the game: directionality. This study compares the effects of intro- ducing scoring targets in possession games on the game’s dynamics, the players’ tactical and physical performance, and their enjoyment and perceived competence. Eighteen female footballers (age: 17.0±1.4 years; playing experience: 9.8±2.1 years) from the third team of a Spanish women’s first division club played three 3 × 5-minute nine-a-side pos- session games on a 52 m long × 33 m wide pitch with no, two and four scoring objects. Game dynamics (total effective playing time and duration of ball possessions) from observational analysis, tactical (central tendency and entropy measures of collective and individual pitch-positioning-derived variables and synchronisation) and physical (total dis- tance travelled and distances at different speeds) responses from GPS data, and players’ perceptions of enjoyment and competence were assessed. The main findings indicate that the effective playing time and average duration of ball possession did not vary between the training scenarios (p>0.05); the inclusion of four targets led players to occupy less space (p<0.05; Cohen’s d>1.12), positioning themselves near the targets, and to play in a more synchronised man- ner longitudinally (p<0.05; Cohen’s d=0.61) than in the non-directional game; and the physical demands and players’ perceptions of enjoyment and competence did not differ between the possession games (p>0.05). Placing targets to provide possession games with directionality encourages players to occupy less space and play more centred and synchronised, without impairing game dynamics, external load or their perceptions of enjoyment and competence.

Keywords

team sports, soccer, observational analysis, tactical behaviour, external load, motivation

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