Lateral foot-use asymmetry and offensive effectiveness in elite 5-a-side soccer for the blind: an exploratory notational analysis
7 affiliations
- 1Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias de la Actividad Física y del Deporte, University of Murcia, San Javier, Murcia, Spain
- 2Faculty of Physical Education, National Pedagogical University, Bogotá, Colombia
- 3Faculty of Sport Science, University of Murcia, Murcia, Spain
- 4Faculty of Education and Humanities, School of Sport Sciences, Universidad Andrés Bello, Viña del Mar, Chile
- 5Department of Sport Sciences, Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, Fit Generation Research Institute, Andorra la Vella, Andorra
- 6School of Medicine, Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador
- 7Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Postgrado, Universidad de Los Lagos, Osorno, Chile
Abstract
Background: In 5-a-side soccer for the blind (F5), functional laterality takes on a particular significance distinct from that in conventional soccer because players do not visually choose which leg to use; rather, they orient themselves physically through auditory and tactile cues developed over years of training. However, how often each foot is used in competition, and whether the executing foot is associated with offensive effectiveness, have not been previously quantified.
Objective: To quantify foot-use asymmetry at the team and individual levels in the Argentine men's national F5 team during the 2022 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Copa América and to explore whether the executing foot was associated with offensive effectiveness beyond the spatial and contextual characteristics of each action.
Methods: A retrospective notational analysis of a publicly available event log covering six matches was conducted. After removal of 14 duplicated goal records and eight actions without a recorded executing foot and one body-executed action, 141 shooting actions by eight players were analysed (139 with court coordinates). Foot-use asymmetry was quantified with an asymmetry index (AI). Goal and on-target rates were compared with Fisher's exact test, and associations with goal scoring were estimated with Firth-penalised logistic regression, with sensitivity analyses addressing clustering within players and individual foot preference.
Results: The team showed marked right-foot predominance (107 right-footed versus 34 left-footed actions; AI = 51.8%), and five of the eight players used a single foot exclusively. Left-foot actions had a higher goal rate than right-foot actions: 17.6% compared with 7.5% [odds ratio (OR) = 2.65; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85–8.28; p = 0.102]. The estimate was similar after adjustment for origin of the play, lateral lane, distance from the goal and minute of play (Firth OR = 3.25; 95% CI: 0.96–11.35; p = 0.057), but it was imprecise and not statistically significant in any specification. Four of the six left-foot goals were scored by the only exclusively left-footed player; when actions were classified relative to each player's own preferred foot, the association was weaker (non-preferred versus preferred foot: 16.7% versus 9.3%; OR = 2.24; 95% CI: 0.40–8.96; p = 0.322). Shot distance and shot angle did not differ between feet and were not associated with goal scoring; 94.2% of shots were taken within 10 m of the goal line.
Conclusions: The Argentine team combined marked team-level right-foot predominance with pronounced individual foot specialisation. The higher crude goal rate of left-foot actions was imprecise, was largely attributable to one left-footed player and was weaker when foot use was expressed relative to individual preference; it should therefore be regarded as a hypothesis to be confirmed in larger, multi-team samples rather than as evidence of a non-dominant-limb advantage. Individual foot-use profiles may nonetheless inform technical–tactical scouting and the planning of bilateral training in athletes with visual impairments.
Related
- Analysis of key performance indicators influencing offensive effectiveness during clutch moments in elite international men’s basketball
- Convergent Validity and Exploratory Discrimination of Two-Dimensional Facial Photographic Measures for Clinician-Rated Facial Asymmetry in Young Mongolian Adults
- Medial-lateral posterior tibial slope asymmetry is associated with the presence of medial meniscus posterior root tear.
- Frontal alpha asymmetry and instructed satisfaction-rating changes after price presentation: An exploratory pilot study
- Isokinetic Knee Strength and Multidirectional Jump-Landing Asymmetry in Professional Football Players After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Study
BibTeX
@article{becerrapatino2026lateral,
title = {{Lateral foot-use asymmetry and offensive effectiveness in elite 5-a-side soccer for the blind: an exploratory notational analysis}},
author = {Boryi A. Becerra-Patiño and José Pino-Ortega and Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda and José Francisco López-Gil},
journal = {Frontiers in Sports and Active Living},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fspor.2026.1887871},
url = {https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2026.1887871},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Lateral foot-use asymmetry and offensive effectiveness in elite 5-a-side soccer for the blind: an exploratory notational analysis
AU - Boryi A. Becerra-Patiño
AU - José Pino-Ortega
AU - Rodrigo Yáñez-Sepúlveda
AU - José Francisco López-Gil
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/21
JO - Frontiers in Sports and Active Living
DO - 10.3389/fspor.2026.1887871
UR - https://doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2026.1887871
AB - Background: In 5-a-side soccer for the blind (F5), functional laterality takes on a particular significance distinct from that in conventional soccer because players do not visually choose which leg to use; rather, they orient themselves physically through auditory and tactile cues developed over years of training. However, how often each foot is used in competition, and whether the executing foot is associated with offensive effectiveness, have not been previously quantified. Objective: To quantify foot-use asymmetry at the team and individual levels in the Argentine men's national F5 team during the 2022 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Copa América and to explore whether the executing foot was associated with offensive effectiveness beyond the spatial and contextual characteristics of each action. Methods: A retrospective notational analysis of a publicly available event log covering six matches was conducted. After removal of 14 duplicated goal records and eight actions without a recorded executing foot and one body-executed action, 141 shooting actions by eight players were analysed (139 with court coordinates). Foot-use asymmetry was quantified with an asymmetry index (AI). Goal and on-target rates were compared with Fisher's exact test, and associations with goal scoring were estimated with Firth-penalised logistic regression, with sensitivity analyses addressing clustering within players and individual foot preference. Results: The team showed marked right-foot predominance (107 right-footed versus 34 left-footed actions; AI = 51.8%), and five of the eight players used a single foot exclusively. Left-foot actions had a higher goal rate than right-foot actions: 17.6% compared with 7.5% [odds ratio (OR) = 2.65; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.85–8.28; p = 0.102]. The estimate was similar after adjustment for origin of the play, lateral lane, distance from the goal and minute of play (Firth OR = 3.25; 95% CI: 0.96–11.35; p = 0.057), but it was imprecise and not statistically significant in any specification. Four of the six left-foot goals were scored by the only exclusively left-footed player; when actions were classified relative to each player's own preferred foot, the association was weaker (non-preferred versus preferred foot: 16.7% versus 9.3%; OR = 2.24; 95% CI: 0.40–8.96; p = 0.322). Shot distance and shot angle did not differ between feet and were not associated with goal scoring; 94.2% of shots were taken within 10 m of the goal line. Conclusions: The Argentine team combined marked team-level right-foot predominance with pronounced individual foot specialisation. The higher crude goal rate of left-foot actions was imprecise, was largely attributable to one left-footed player and was weaker when foot use was expressed relative to individual preference; it should therefore be regarded as a hypothesis to be confirmed in larger, multi-team samples rather than as evidence of a non-dominant-limb advantage. Individual foot-use profiles may nonetheless inform technical–tactical scouting and the planning of bilateral training in athletes with visual impairments.
SN - 2624-9367
ER -