Effects of a Small-Sided Games Training Programme with Cognitive Demands on Aerobic Fitness in Young Elite Footballers: A Controlled Longitudinal Study

Abstract

Small-sided positional games now play a central role in integrated physical preparation for football, but relatively little is actually known about the long-term effects of a programme that combines them with proprioceptive training and technical skills, alongside physical training organised around a monthly (or weekly) focus and functional core strengthening, particularly among young footballers. This is what this study sought to demonstrate: the effect of a 16-week programme focusing on positional games with cognitive demands (45 mins), combined with set routines (15 mins of proprioception with technical skills, 15 mins of associated physical training and 10 mins of functional core training), on performance in the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 1 (YYIR1). Fifty-eight youth academy players, divided into four age groups (U13 to U16, experimental group, n = 49) and a control group (n = 9) following a conventional training programme, were tested before and after the intervention. The analyses combined paired and independent t-tests, ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test, and corrections for multiple comparisons (Bonferroni, Benjamini-Hochberg), calculated using Python (SciPy, statsmodels). All age groups showed improvement in raw test scores (p < 0.05), with gains ranging from +38.3% to +77.8% depending on age in the experimental group, compared with +14.2% for the control group; once the corrections have been applied, the gains for the U13, U14, U15 and U16 age groups remain robust under the Bonferroni test, whilst that of the control group is only significant under the less conservative FDR correction. The integrated programme ultimately produces an average gain (+61.2 per cent) significantly higher than that of conventional training, which is particularly marked among the U13, U14 and U16 age groups.

Keywords: positional play; proprioception; physical conditioning; functional core training; aerobic fitness; Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test; young footballers.

Received Date: June 19, 2026

Accepted Date: July 10, 2026

Published Date: August 01, 2026

Available Online at: https://www.ijsrisjournal.com/index.php/ojsfiles/article/view/935