Relative Age and Passing Performance in Pre-adolescent Football Players

Overview

This completed cross-sectional observational study examined whether relative age within an annual selection cycle was associated with passing performance in pre-adolescent football players. Participants were classified by birth month, birth quarter and birth semester. Passing performance was assessed using the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test, in which players completed 16 passes to colour-coded targets as quickly and accurately as possible. Total performance time combined movement time, time penalties for errors and time bonuses for accurate passes. The study evaluated the distribution of players across the selection year and the association between relative age and passing-test performance while accounting for the two chronological birth cohorts represented in the sample.

Annual age grouping in youth football can create a relative age effect, characterised by the over-representation of players born earlier in the selection year. This pattern is often attributed to temporary developmental advantages, but it is unclear whether earlier-born pre-adolescent players also demonstrate superior technical performance. The study used a cross-sectional observational design in a youth football development programme in Bello, Colombia. The source cohort contained 61 participant records. Birth month was used to classify players into four relative-age quarters: Q1 (January-March), Q2 (April-June), Q3 (July-September) and Q4 (October-December), and into two semesters: H1 (January-June) and H2 (July-December). Passing performance was measured with the Loughborough Soccer Passing Test. Players were scheduled to complete two trials separated by five minutes. Each trial comprised 16 externally cued passes to four colour-coded target areas. Movement time was adjusted by adding penalties for inaccurate execution or protocol violations and subtracting bonuses for striking the central target strip. Lower total performance time indicated better performance. The primary technical outcome was the mean total performance time across available trials. Sensitivity outcomes included Trial 1 and the best trial. The primary analysis estimated the association between birth month and LSPT total performance time after adjustment for birth cohort. Additional analyses examined representation by quarter and semester and agreement between the two LSPT trials. Data collection was completed in 2017. The study is being registered retrospectively in 2026 to improve transparency and support public sharing of the anonymised dataset and analysis materials.