A Study of Relative Age Effect in Professional Leagues (The Sample of Turkish Super League, 1st League, 2nd League and 3rd League)

Abstract

This present study aims to examine the phenomenon of the relative age effect among football players based on birth year and the positions they played in Turkish professional leagues. A total of 3622 professional football players from Turkish Super League, Spor Toto 1stLeague, 2ndLeague and 3rd League were included in the study. The players were divided into 4 different quarters with 3-month intervals and 2 different half-terms with 6-month intervals starting from January. The data of the second half of the 2021-2022 football season were used in the research. The data of the study were obtained from the official and open-access web pages of the Turkish Football Federation and Transfermarkt. With the chi-square test, the distribution of the football players according to birth months, positions and leagues and the frequency distribution differences between the groups were analyzed. SPSS 22 statistical package program was used to analyze data and the significance level was accepted as p<0.05. As a result, it has been observed that the number of football players born in the first quarter and the first 6 months of the year in all of the professional leagues in Turkey is more than the players born in the other quarters of the year, and the results were found statistically significant. In addition, it has been determined that there are more football players born in the first months of the year in all positions according to the leagues. As a result, the presence of relative age effect in football players playing in professional leagues in Turkey has been revealed.

Keywords

• Football
• Relative age effect
• Turkish professional leagues

Profesyonel Liglerde Bağıl Yaş Etkisinin İncelenmesi (Türkiye Süper Lig, 1. Lig, 2. Lig ve 3. Lig Örneği)

Abstract

Bu çalışma, Türkiye profesyonel liglerinde oynayan futbolcuların doğum yıllarına ve oynadıkları mevkilere göre bağıl yaş etkisinin varlığını incelemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Çalışmaya süper lig, spor toto 1. lig, 2. lig ve 3. lig kulüplerinde oynayan toplam 3622 profesyonel futbolcu dahil edilmiştir. Futbolcular ocak ayından itibaren 3’er ay ara ile 4 farklı çeyrek döneme ve 6 ay ara ile 2 farklı yarım döneme ayrılmıştır. Araştırmada 2021-2022 futbol sezonunun ikinci yarısındaki veriler kullanılmıştır. Çalışmanın verileri erişime açık olan, Türkiye Futbol Federasyonunun resmi web sayfasından ve transfermarkt web adresinden elde edilmiştir. Futbolcuların doğdukları aylara, mevkilere ve liglere göre dağılımları ve gruplar arası frekans dağılım farklılıkları ki-kare (chi-square) testi ile analiz edilmiştir. Verilerin analizlerde SPSS 22 istatistik paket programı kullanılmış ve anlamlılık düzeyi p<0,05 kabul edilmiştir. Elde edilen araştırma bulgularına bakıldığında, Türkiye’deki profesyonel liglerin tamamında yılın ilk çeyrek ve ilk 6 aylık döneminde doğan futbolcuların yılın diğer çeyrek dönemlerinde doğan futbolculara göre daha fazla sayıda oldukları ve elde edilen sonuçların istatistiksel olarak da anlamlı olduğu gözlenmiştir. Ayrıca, liglere göre tüm mevkilerde (kaleci, kanat bek, stoper, kanat forvet, santrafor, merkez orta saha) sayısal olarak yılın ilk aylarında doğan futbolcuların daha fazla olduğu da tespit edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, çalışmamızda Türkiye’de profesyonel liglerde oynayan futbolcularda bağıl yaş etkisinin varlığı ortaya konmuştur. 

Keywords

• Futbol
• Bağıl yaş etkisi
• Türkiye profesyonel ligleri.

References

1. Akkoç, O., & Göksu, Ö.C. (2020). The effect of relative age on the abilites and athletic performance of soccer players under the age of 15. Spormetre The Journal of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, 18(4), 203-212. https://doi.org/10.33689/spormetre.595075
2. Baker, J., Schorer, J., & Cobley, S. (2010). Relative age effects. Sportwiss, 40(1),26-30. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12662-009-0095-2
3. Barnsley, P.E., Barnsley, R.H., & Thompson, A.H. (2020). Relative age effects in sport: International perspectives. Routledge
4. Beser, E. (2022). Relationship with Turkish womens basketball super league players's relative age effect and game performance. Master's Thesis, Istanbul University, Cerrahpaşa Graduate School of Education Department of Movement and Training Sciences, İstanbul.
5. Bezuglov, E.N., Nikolaidis, P.T., Khaitin, V., Usmanova, E., Luibushkina, A., Repetiuk, A., Waskiewicz, Z., Gerasimuk, D., Rosemann, T., & Knechtle, B. (2019). Prevalence of relative age effect in Russian soccer: The role of chronological age and performance. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16 (21),1-10. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16214055
6. Bompa, T.O., & Carrera, M. (2015). Conditioning young athletes. Human Kinetics.
7. Cobley, S., Hanratty, M., O’Connor, D., & Cotton, W. (2014) First club location and relative age as influences on being a professional Australian rugby league player. Int J Sports Sci Coach, 9(2),335–46. https://doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.9.2.335
8. Costa, A.M., Marques, M.C., Louro, H., Ferreira, S.S., & Marinho, D.A. (2013). The relative age effect among elite youth competitive swimmers. Eur J Sport Sci., 13(5),437-4. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2012.742571

9. De Souza, L.S., Vicentini, L., Morbi, M.D.R., & Marques, R.F.R. (2020). The relatıve age effect on soccer goalkeeper traınıng ın Brazıl: scenarıos of the male and female elıtes. Journal of Physical Education, 31(1), 3173. https://doi.org/10.4025/jphyseduc.v31i1.3173
10. Düzgün, M., Göksu, Ö. C., & Akkoç, O. (2022). Relative age effect on swimmers. Spormetre The Journal of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, 20(1),82-91. https://doi.org/10.33689/spormetre.984057
11. Genç, H. (2019). Türkiye A Milli takımlarında bağıl yaş etkisinin branşlar açısından incelenmesi. Öztürk, A., Karaçar, E., Yılmaz, O. (Ed.), Spor ve rekreasyon araştırmaları kitabı-2. (s. 177-187). Çizgi Kitabevi.
12. Gerdin, G., Hedberg, M., & Hageskog, C. A. (2018). Relative age effect in Swedish male and female tennis players born in 1998–2001. Sports, 6(2),1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports6020038
13. González-Víllora, S., Pastor-Vicedo, J.C., & Cordente, D. (2015). Relative age effect in UEFA championship soccer players. Journal of Human Kinetics, 47, 237-248. https://doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2015-0079
14. Helsen, W. F., Starkes, J. L., & Van Winckel, J. (1998). The influence of relative age on success and dropout in male soccer players. American Journal of Human Biology, 10(6), 791–798. https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6300(1998)10:6<791::AID-AJHB10>3.0.CO;2-1
15. Huard Pelletier, V., & Lemoyne, J. (2022). Early sport specialization and relative age effect: prevalence and influence on perceived competence in ice hockey players. Sports, 10(4), 1-11, Article 62. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10040062
16. Ibanez, S.J., Mazo, A., Nascimento, J., & Garcia-Rubio. J. (2018). The relative age effect in under-18 basketball: effects on performance according to playing position. PLoS ONE, 13(7), 1-11. Article e0200408. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0200408
17. Köklü, Y., Arslan, Y., & Alemdaroğlu, U. (2017). Evidence of the relative age effect in youth soccer players from Turkey. Kinesiologia Slovenica, 23(2), 33–43.
18. Lemez, S., Baker, J., Horton, S., Wattie, N., & Weir, P. (2014). Examining the relationship between relative age, competition level, and dropout rates in male youth ice-hockey players. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports, 24(6), 935–942. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12127
19. Lemez, S., Macmahon, C., & Weir P. (2016). Relative age effects in women’s rugby union from developmental leagues to World Cup tournaments. Res Q Exerc Sport, 87(1), 59–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/02701367.2015.1116120.
20. Li, Z., Mao, L., Steingröver, C., Wattie, N., Baker, J., Schorer, J., & Helsen, W.F. (2020). Relative age effects in elite Chinese soccer players: Implications of the ‘one-child’ policy. PLoS ONE, 15(2), e0228611. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228611
21. López-del-Río, M., Rabadán, D., Redondo, J.C., & Sedano, S. (2019). Relative age effect in professional football: ınfluence of competitive level and playing position. Apunts. Educació Física i Esports, 35(138), 26-39. https://dx.doi.org/10.5672/apunts.2014-0983.es.(2019/4).138.02
22. Mujika, I., Vaeyens, R., Matthys, S.P.J., Santisteban, J., Goiriena, J., & Philippaerts, R. (2009). The relative age effect in a professional football club setting. Journal of Sports Sciences, 27(11), 1153-1158. https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02640410903220328
23. Mülazımoğlu, O., Bayansalduz, M., Kaynak, K., & Mulazımoglu, H.D. (2016). Relative age effect in Turkish soccer. Turkish Journal of Sport and Exercise, 18 (1), 64-69. https://dx.doi.org/10.15314/tjse.14670
24. Mülazımoğlu, O., Cihan, H., Erdoğdu, M., & Şirin, E.F. (2013). The relative age effect in professional and youth teams of some Turkish soccer clubs. Spormetre The Journal of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, 11(2), 105-111. https://dx.doi.org/10.1501/Sporm_0000000244
25. Müller, L., Müller, E., Kornexl, E., & Raschner, C. (2015) The relationship between physical motor skills, gender and relative age effects in young Austrian alpine ski racers. Int J Sports Sci Coach, 10(1), 69–85. https://doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.10.1.69
26. Padrón-Cabo, A., Rey, E., García-Soidán, J.L., & Penedo-Jamardo, E. (2016). Large scale analysis of relative age effect on professional soccer players in FIFA designated zones. International Journal of Performance Analysis in Sport, 15(1), 332-346. https://doi.org/10.1080/24748668.2016.11868890
27. Pedersen, A.V., Aune, T.K., Dalen, T., & Lorås, H. (2022). Variations in the relative age effect with age and sex, and over time—Elite-level data from international soccer world cups. PLoS ONE, 17(4),e0264813. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0264813
28. Romann, M., & Fuchslocher, J. (2014). Survival and success of the relatively oldest in Swiss youth skiing competition. Int J Sports Sci Coach, 9(2),347–56. https://doi.org/10.1260/1747-9541.9.2.347
29. Salinero, J.J., Pérez, B., Burillo, P., Lesma, M.L., & Herrero, M.H. (2014). Efecto de edad relativa en el fútbol profesional español / Relative age effect in spanish professional football. Revista Internacional de Medicina y Ciencias de la Actividad Física y el Deporte, 14(56), 591-601.
30. Salinero, J.J., Pérez, B., Burillo, P., & Lesma, M.L. (2013). Relative age effect in European professional football analysis by position. J. Hum. Sport Exerc., 8(4), 966-973. https://doi.org/10.4100/jhse.2013.84.07
31. Smith, K.L., & Weir, P.L. (2013). An examination of the relative age effect in developmental girls’ hockey in Ontario. High Abil Stud., 24(2),171–84. https://doi.org/10.1080/13598139.2013.847357
32. T.F.F. (2022, May 10). Home page. https://www.tff.org/Default.aspx?pageId=200&ftxtId=37028.
33. Transfermarkt (2022, May 11). Matches. https://www.transfermarkt.com.tr/.
34. Ulbricht, A., Fernandez-Fernandez, J., Mendez-Villanueva, A., & Ferrauti, A. (2015). The relative age effect and physical fitness characteristics in German male tennis players. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 14(3),634-642.
35. Wattie, N., Schorer, J. & Baker, J. (2015). The relative age effect in sport: developmental systems model. Sports Medicine, 45(1), 83-94. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0248-9.
36. Wiiuma, N., Liea, S.A., Ommundsenb, Y., & Enksena, H.R. (2010). Does relative age effect exist among Norwegian professional soccer players?. International Journal of Applied Sports Sciences, 22(2), 66-76. http://dx.doi.org/10.24985/ijass.2010.22.2.66
37. Yagüe, J.M., Rubia, A., Sánchez-Molina, J., Maroto-Izquierdo, S., & Molinero, O. (2018). The relative age effect in the 10 best leagues of male professional football of the union of European football associations (UEFA). Journal of Sports Science and Medicine, 17(3), 409-416.
38. Yapar, A. (2020). Examination of birthplace and relative age effect on basketball players participating in U16 basketball European championship. Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University Journal of Sport Sciences, 3(3), 63-79.