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Effects of Small-Sided Soccer Games on Physical Fitness, Physiological Responses, and Health Indices in Untrained Individuals and Clinical Populations: A Systematic Review

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Abstract

Background

Small-sided soccer games (SSSG) are a specific exercise regime with two small teams playing against each other on a relatively small pitch. There is evidence from original research that SSSG exposure provides performance and health benefits for untrained adults.

Objectives

The aim of this systematic review was to summarize recent evidence on the acute and long-term effects of SSSG on physical fitness, physiological responses, and health indices in healthy untrained individuals and clinical populations.

Methods

This systematic literature search was conducted in four electronic databases (PubMed, Web of Science, SPORTDiscus) from inception until June 2019. The following key terms (and synonyms searched for by the MeSH database) were included and combined using the operators “AND”, “OR”, “NOT”: ((soccer OR football) AND (“soccer training” OR “football training” OR “soccer game*” OR “small-sided soccer game*”) AND (“physical fitness” OR “physiological adaptation*” OR “physiological response*” OR health OR “body weight” OR “body mass” OR “body fat” OR “bone composition” OR “blood pressure”)). The search syntax initially identified 1145 records. After screening for titles, abstracts, and full texts, 41 studies remained that examined the acute (7 studies) and long-term effects (34 studies) of SSSG-based training on physical fitness, physiological responses, and selected alth indices in healthy untrained individuals and clinical populations.

Results

No training-related injuries were reported in the 41 acute and long-term SSSG studies. Typically, a single session of SSSG lasted 12–20 min (e.g., 3 × 4 min with 3 min rest or 5 × 4 min with 4 min rest) involving 4–12 players (2 vs. 2 to 6 vs. 6) at an intensity ≥ 80% of HRmax. Following single SSSG session, high cardiovascular and metabolic demands were observed. Specifically, based on the outcomes, the seven acute studies reported average heart rates (HR) ≥ 80% of HRmax (165–175 bpm) and mean blood lactate concentrations exceeding 5 mmol/l (4.5–5.9 mmol/l) after single SSSG sessions. Based on the results of 34 studies (20 with healthy untrained, 10 with unhealthy individuals, and 4 with individuals with obesity), SSSG training lasted between 12 and 16 weeks and was performed 2–3 times per week. SSSG had positive long-term effects on physical fitness (e.g., Yo–Yo IR1 performance), physiological responses including maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) [+ 7 to 16%], and many health-related markers such as blood pressure (reductions in systolic [− 7.5%] and diastolic [− 10.3%] blood pressure), body composition (decreased fat mass [− 2 to − 5%]), and improved indices of bone health (bone mineral density: [+ 5 to 13%]; bone mineral content: [+ 4 to 5%]), and metabolic (LDL-cholesterol [− 15%] as well as cardiac function (left-ventricular internal diastolic diameter [+ 8%], end diastolic volume [+ 21%], left-ventricular mass index [+ 18%], and left-ventricular ejection fraction [+ 8%]). Irrespective of age or sex, these health benefits were observed in both, untrained individuals and clinical populations.

Conclusions

In conclusion, findings from this systematic review suggest that acute SSSG may elicit high cardiovascular and metabolic demands in untrained healthy adults and clinical populations. Moreover, this type of exercise is safe with positive long-term effects on physical fitness and health indices. Future studies are needed examining the long-term effects on physical fitness and physiological adaptations of different types of SSSG training (e.g., 3 vs. 3; 6 vs. 6) in comparison to continuous or interval training in different cohorts.

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Fig. 1

Adapted version of the recommendations in the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) statement [24]. SSSG: Small-sided soccer games

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Data Availability Statement

All data supporting the findings of this study are available in this published article.

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Author notes

  1. Urs Granacher and Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman are last authors.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Univ Rennes, M2S (Laboratoire Mouvement, Sport, Santé), EA 1274, 35000, Rennes, France

    Hassane Zouhal

  2. Higher Institute of Sport and Physical Education of Ksar-Said, Ksar Said, Tunisia

    Amri Hammami, Jed M. Tijani, Zouita Sghaeir & Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman

  3. SRM College of Physiotherapy, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur Kancheepuram (DT), Tamilnadu, India

    Ayyappan Jayavel

  4. University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Maysa de Sousa

  5. Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

    Peter Krustrup

  6. Shanghai University of Sport, Shanghai, China

    Peter Krustrup

  7. Division of Training and Movement Sciences, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany

    Urs Granacher

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Contributions

HZ, AH, and ABA were involved in the conceptualization of the study, data analysis, and the writing of the manuscript. MJT, AJ, MS, and ZS were involved in the data assessment, data analysis, and the writing of the manuscript. PK and UG were involved in the writing of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Hassane Zouhal or Urs Granacher.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and Open Access Publishing Fund of the University of Potsdam, Germany.

Conflict of interest

Hassane Zouhal, Amri Hammami, Jed Tijani, Ayyappan Jayavel, Maysa de Sousa, Peter Krustrup, Zouita Sghaeir, Urs Granacher, and Abderraouf Ben Abderrahman declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this review.

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Zouhal, H., Hammami, A., Tijani, J.M. et al. Effects of Small-Sided Soccer Games on Physical Fitness, Physiological Responses, and Health Indices in Untrained Individuals and Clinical Populations: A Systematic Review. Sports Med 50, 987–1007 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-019-01256-w

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