Influence of the selection level, age and playing position on relative age effects in Swiss women’s soccer

Relative age effects (RAEs) refer to age differences in the same
selection year. In this study, 6,229 female soccer players representing the
entire Swiss female soccer population were evaluated to determine the
prevalence of RAEs in Swiss women’s soccer. Significant RAEs existed in the
self-selected extracurricular (n = 2987) soccer teams and the subgroup of
talent development teams (n = 450) in the 10 to14 age category. No significant
RAEs were found for players 15 years of age or older (n = 3242) and the
subgroup of all national teams (n = 239). Additionally, significantly stronger
RAEs were observed in defenders and goalkeepers compared to midfielders
in national teams. Our findings show that in Switzerland, RAEs apparently
influence the self selection and talent selection processes of women’s soccer in
the 10 to 14 age category. However, in contrast to male soccer we found no
RAEs in elite women’s soccer teams.