Do Contextual Factors Influence Running and Accelerometry GPS Based Variables in Professional Women Soccer Players? A case study about the effect of match location and result

The aims of this study were to compare external match load between home and away matches as

well as the result of the match (win, draw and loss). The secondary aim was to quantify external

training load that preceded the next match taking into account both match location and result.

Ten elite women soccer players participated in the study (age 24.6±2.3 years). Seven home and

seven away matches in which four wins, three draws and seven losses occurred. The following

global positioning system (GPS) metrics were analyzed: duration, total distance, high-speed

running distance (HSR, ≥15 km/h), number of accelerations (ACC) and decelerations (DEC),

average speed and player load. There were no significant differences between match results and

match locations. Regarding comparisons of training data preceding different match results, only

duration and player load did not differ while HSR, number of ACC and DEC showed to be

higher when the next match was a loss (p<0.05, moderate to very large effect). Regarding

comparisons of training data preceding different match locations, only duration, total distance

and player load did not differ while HSR, average speed, number of ACC and DEC in all zones

were higher when the next match was at home (p<0.05, moderate to very large effect). In

conclusion, this study showed that match result and location did not have a significant effect on

GPS metrics exhibited during match-day. However, training data influenced the contextual

factors of the next match which should be considered when planning training sessions.