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Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Biology of Sport

Charting the champions: distinguishing the career paths of international futsal champions – a retrospective study

  • Diogo Mendes1,2
  • Diogo V. Martinho1,2
  • Bruno Travassos3,4
  • Élvio R. Gouveia5,6
  • Nestor Ordoñez Saavedra7
  • Pedro Campos8,9
  • Liliana C. Baptista1,2
  • Hugo Sarmento1,2
9 affiliations
  1. 1Universidade de Coimbra, CIPER, Faculdade de Ciências do Desporto e Educação Física, Coimbra, Portugal
  2. 2CIPER, Faculdade de Motricidade Humana, Universidade de Lisboa, Cruz-Quebrada-Dafundo, Portugal
  3. 3Research Center in Sports Sciences, Health Sciences and Human Development (CIDESD), Department of Sport Sciences, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
  4. 4Portugal Football School, Portuguese Football Federation, Portugal
  5. 5Department of Physical Education and Sport, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal
  6. 6Laboratory of Robotics and Engineering Systems, Interactive Technologies Institute, Funchal, Portugal
  7. 7Universidad de Ciencias Aplicadas y Ambientales (UDCA), Bogotá, Colombia
  8. 8Department of Informatics Engineering and Interactive Media Design, University of Madeira, Funchal, Portugal
  9. 9WoWSystems Informática Lda, Funchal, Portugal
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Abstract

Understanding the activities that futsal players engage in during their developmental years is essential for grasping the attainment of expertise. Most studies have been conducted in soccer, and there is a lack of research specific to futsal. Given the investment of the Portuguese Football Federation in futsal, exploring the developmental pathways leading to elite levels could provide significant insights for optimizing the long-term athletic development of futsal players. The present study describes the developmental activities of elite players (those who have won the European or World Championship) and national players (who have played in the 1st Portuguese Division but have never attained international level status). The sample comprised 30 national players and 19 elite players. Questionnaires were individually applied to each player. The analysis included the variables related to each player’s developmental trajectory. Elite players initiated coach-led futsal practice later than national-level players (t = 2.374, p = 0.022, d = 0.696), with similar trends observed for the initiation of competitive futsal (t = 1.040, p = 0.058, d = 0.569) and peer-led practice in other sports (t = 2.076, p = 0.061, d = 0.995). Although age of specialization was higher in elite players (13.3 ± 4.1 vs. 11.3 ± 4.0 years), no significant differences were observed between groups (t = 1.663, p = 0.113, d = 0.473). Across the developmental pathway, elite players accumulated greater coach-led futsal practice volume (t = 4.343, p < 0.001, d = 1.273), while no differences were found for peer-led practice, participation in other sports, or competition exposure. Developmental trajectories showed a progressive increase in coach-led futsal practice in both groups, with significant between-group differences only observed in adulthood (≥ 23 years: t = 3.251, p = 0.003, d = 1.170). These findings may inform the Portuguese Football Federation by suggesting that later specialization and sustained engagement in coach-led futsal and other sports may be relevant for the development of elite players.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{mendes2026charting,
  title = {{Charting the champions: distinguishing the career paths of international futsal champions – a retrospective study}},
  author = {Diogo Mendes and Diogo V. Martinho and Bruno Travassos and Élvio R. Gouveia and Nestor Ordoñez Saavedra and Pedro Campos and Liliana C. Baptista and Hugo Sarmento},
  journal = {Biology of Sport},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.5114/biolsport.2026.161098},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2026.161098},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - Charting the champions: distinguishing the career paths of international futsal champions – a retrospective study
AU  - Diogo Mendes
AU  - Diogo V. Martinho
AU  - Bruno Travassos
AU  - Élvio R. Gouveia
AU  - Nestor Ordoñez Saavedra
AU  - Pedro Campos
AU  - Liliana C. Baptista
AU  - Hugo Sarmento
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/27
JO  - Biology of Sport
DO  - 10.5114/biolsport.2026.161098
UR  - https://doi.org/10.5114/biolsport.2026.161098
AB  - Understanding the activities that futsal players engage in during their developmental years is essential for grasping the attainment of expertise. Most studies have been conducted in soccer, and there is a lack of research specific to futsal. Given the investment of the Portuguese Football Federation in futsal, exploring the developmental pathways leading to elite levels could provide significant insights for optimizing the long-term athletic development of futsal players. The present study describes the developmental activities of elite players (those who have won the European or World Championship) and national players (who have played in the 1st Portuguese Division but have never attained international level status). The sample comprised 30 national players and 19 elite players. Questionnaires were individually applied to each player. The analysis included the variables related to each player’s developmental trajectory. Elite players initiated coach-led futsal practice later than national-level players (t = 2.374, p = 0.022, d = 0.696), with similar trends observed for the initiation of competitive futsal (t = 1.040, p = 0.058, d = 0.569) and peer-led practice in other sports (t = 2.076, p = 0.061, d = 0.995). Although age of specialization was higher in elite players (13.3 ± 4.1 vs. 11.3 ± 4.0 years), no significant differences were observed between groups (t = 1.663, p = 0.113, d = 0.473). Across the developmental pathway, elite players accumulated greater coach-led futsal practice volume (t = 4.343, p < 0.001, d = 1.273), while no differences were found for peer-led practice, participation in other sports, or competition exposure. Developmental trajectories showed a progressive increase in coach-led futsal practice in both groups, with significant between-group differences only observed in adulthood (≥ 23 years: t = 3.251, p = 0.003, d = 1.170). These findings may inform the Portuguese Football Federation by suggesting that later specialization and sustained engagement in coach-led futsal and other sports may be relevant for the development of elite players.
SN  - 0860-021X
SN  - 2083-1862
ER  -