Background

Aggressive preventive actions were required to face the Covid-19 outbreak. However, from March 2020 on, many healthy youth football players have seen their sporting activities disrupted by the restrictions on outdoor exercise.

This study describes physical activity and quality of life during April 2020 lockdown of young people participating in organized football.

Methods

1163 young football players aged 12–17 years (185 girls) completed a web-based questionnaire including the Youth Physical Activity and the Youth Quality of Life-Short Form Questionnaires; information on lifestyle and football-specific activity were also collected. Differences according to sex, urban/rural context and élite/non-élite club level were tested using a 2 $\times$ 2 $\times$ 2 MANOVA (age considered as a covariate).

Results

We found that: (i) on average, exposure to football accounted for 3.2 hours/week, was higher in élite clubs and changed in nature, being mainly performed individually; 19% of participants practiced football <1 hour/week; (ii) only 56% of the participants reported 7 or more hours/week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, which decreased with age and changed according to the geographical context; (iii) perceived quality of life was lower in youth playing for non-elite clubs and in older girls; (iv) coaches, rather that official initiatives, were the primary source of football exercises practiced at home.

Conclusion

A status of limited physical activity emerged; this might lead to deconditioning and susceptibility to injuries when football could restart. Governing bodies, football Associations and clubs could exploit these results to take informed decisions and support evidence-based interventions during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

中文翻译：

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在家的球员：Covid-19 封锁期间 12-17 岁足球（足球）球员的身体活动和生活质量

背景

需要采取积极的预防措施来应对 Covid-19 的爆发。然而，从 2020 年 3 月开始，许多健康的青少年足球运动员看到他们的体育活动因户外运动的限制而中断。

这项研究描述了 2020 年 4 月对参加有组织足球的年轻人进行封锁期间的身体活动和生活质量。

方法

1163 名 12-17 岁的年轻足球运动员（185 名女孩）完成了一份基于网络的问卷调查，包括青少年体育活动和青少年生活质量简表问卷；还收集了有关生活方式和足球特定活动的信息。使用 2$\times$2 $\times$ 2 MANOVA（年龄被视为协变量）。

结果

我们发现： (i) 平均而言，每周接触足球的时间为 3.2 小时，在精英俱乐部中较高，并且性质发生了变化，主要是个人进行；19% 的参与者每周练习足球少于 1 小时；(ii) 只有 56% 的参与者报告每周进行 7 小时或更多小时的中等到剧烈的身体活动，随着年龄的增长而减少，并根据地理环境而变化；(iii) 为非精英俱乐部效力的青年和年龄较大的女孩认为生活质量较低；(iv) 教练，而不是官方倡议，是在家进行足球练习的主要来源。

结论

出现了身体活动受限的状态；当足球重新开始时，这可能会导致身体不适和容易受伤。管理机构、足球协会和俱乐部可以利用这些结果做出明智的决定，并在 Covid-19 大流行期间和之后支持基于证据的干预措施。