Physical Metrics at Elite Level

Systems such as TRACAB and Second Spectrum capture positions at around 25 frames per second.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · recall

Distance moved between two frames divided by the time between them gives speed, which is then smoothed.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Divide km/h by 3.6: 36 km/h is exactly 10 m/s.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A few centimetres of error between frames becomes a large jump in speed, so the data is filtered first.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The frame rate, the smoothing and the time window used for 'peak' speed all change the number reported.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Averaging over a short spell, often around a second, stops one noisy frame from producing an impossible record.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Satellite-based vests and optical cameras have different sampling rates and errors, so their speeds rarely match exactly.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Cleaning comes before calculation, and the peak is read from the smoothed speeds.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

6 m/s is 21.6 km/h, which sits between 18 and 30 km/h.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

He covers 0.32 m every frame; 25 frames make a second, so 8 m/s, and 8 x 3.6 = 28.8 km/h.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Throw-ins, free kicks, goal kicks, substitutions and injuries take up more than half an hour of a 90-minute match.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · recall

Officials were told to add the time lost to goals, substitutions, injuries and VAR checks, so long added time became common.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · recall

Long stoppages mean more walking and standing, so a match with little live time produces lower running totals.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The time the review takes is time with the ball out of play, so it is added on like any other stoppage.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · applied

Two matches of 90 minutes can have ten minutes' difference in live play; per-minute figures compare like with like.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Dozens of throw-ins, goal kicks and free kicks each take seconds, and together they add up to far more than the rarer stoppages.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Slow throw-ins, goal kicks and substitutions cut live play, which is why referees are told to add the time back.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Live play is well under the 90 minutes, and added time makes the full match longer than 90.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The board shows a minimum; stoppages during added time can extend it further.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · applied

Of about 98 minutes played, only around 55 have the ball in play; the rest goes on restarts and other stoppages.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The league and AWS turn its tracking and event data into live statistics for broadcasts and apps.

Source: Bundesliga and AWS announcements · recall

Distance is easy to understand, which is why it appears on screen, even though it says little about quality.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A player chasing the ball because his team is outplayed can top the distance table without affecting the game.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Leagues' tracking providers follow every player with cameras and pass the numbers to broadcasters.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Different tracking systems and settings can produce different totals for the same kind of match.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Most matches are decided by short, fast actions, and sprint counts capture them better than kilometres walked and jogged.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Clubs have full tracking and GPS data with their own definitions, which tell them far more than a graphic on screen.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The chain runs from the stadium cameras through the data company to the broadcast graphics team.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Total distance mixes walking with running; high-speed distance and sprints focus on the demanding efforts.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Distance shows how much he ran, not what he did with it; it has to be read with the match events.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Referees cover distances similar to outfield players, much of it at high speed to keep up with play.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · recall

It is the standard pattern of referee movement set out in the guidance to the Laws.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · recall

After the sprints, referees complete an interval test of alternating fast runs and recovery walks.

Source: FIFA refereeing fitness guidelines · recall

Assistants move sideways and change direction along the touchline, so the test checks that movement.

Source: FIFA refereeing fitness guidelines · recall

Being close to incidents at the right angle is part of getting decisions right, and that depends on keeping up.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · applied

A fast break covers 60 metres in seconds, and the referee has to get close enough to judge the final action.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Tracking shows how close a referee was to incidents and how he moved, which feeds into his assessment.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Sprints come first, then the longer interval test, and only then are the times compared with the standards.

Source: FIFA refereeing fitness guidelines · applied

The fourth official barely moves, assistants run along one touchline, and the referee covers the whole pitch.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Keeping play between himself and an assistant means every incident is seen from two angles.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · applied

Their Danish-Italian study of top players showed high-intensity running dropping in the final period, a sign of fatigue.

Source: Mohr, Krustrup and Bangsbo (2003), Journal of Sports Sciences · recall

A temporary dip followed the hardest spells, showing fatigue can come and go during a match.

Source: Mohr, Krustrup and Bangsbo (2003), Journal of Sports Sciences · recall

Tiring legs and stretched teams open spaces that were closed earlier, especially for fresh substitutes.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A substitute has not run for 70 minutes, so he can press and sprint when others are fading.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Repeated sprints to close down opponents cost more than holding a compact block, so the bill arrives late.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Players who keep their intensity late are valuable in close matches, and the comparison shows who fades.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

With less recovery between matches, players have less to give in the final stages.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Running is highest at the start, recovers partly after half-time, and is lowest in the last period.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Live data helps the bench see fatigue before it shows in mistakes.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Intensity falls to its lowest in the final 15 minutes, the pattern Mohr and colleagues described.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Crowded fixture lists after football's shutdown led IFAB to let competitions allow five changes.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · recall

IFAB made the change permanent in 2022, and competitions could adopt it from that season.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · recall

The limit on stoppages stops teams breaking up the match with five separate substitutions.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · recall

A rich squad can replace tiring starters with players of similar quality, which a small squad cannot.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Attacking players do many high-intensity runs and are the usual changes when a coach wants fresh legs or a new plan.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Twenty minutes of running cannot be compared with ninety as a total; per minute puts them on one scale.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

More changes let coaches replace more tired players, so more of the late sprinting is done by fresh legs.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The 1970 World Cup was the first with substitutes, three were allowed from 1995, and five from 2020.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · recall

Averages over 90 include the late drop; the first hour is higher, and a fresh substitute runs hardest per minute.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The substitute covered 20 high-intensity metres a minute against the starter's 14, which is why coaches make late changes.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Studies of top leagues find total distance tells you little about who wins; what the running achieves matters more.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A side without the ball runs to close spaces, and a side behind pushes forward, both of which add distance.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Keeping the ball makes the opponent chase, which costs the chasing side more running.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Closing down the ball is done in bursts, which total distance, dominated by jogging, hides.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The same pitch has to be defended by fewer players, so each one runs further.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Volume is the total distance; intensity is the share or rate of fast running within it.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · recall

A sprint into the right space at the right moment achieves more than a lot of running in the wrong places.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Keeping the ball saves running; a normal contest costs more, and playing a man short costs most.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Possession and score change running, so they must be accounted for before any link to results is claimed.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The champions ran the least of the three, while the mid-table and bottom sides ran more, a common pattern in league data.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The touchlines may be between 90 and 120 metres long outside international matches.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · recall

International matches use a narrower range of lengths so that conditions are closer from ground to ground.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · recall

The goal lines must be between 64 and 75 metres long for international football.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · recall

Defending a wider pitch means more shuffling from side to side, and attacks can use more space.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A compact defence has less ground to cover sideways, and opponents have less room to switch play.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Most modern grounds are built to 105 x 68 metres, the standard size UEFA and FIFA ask for at major matches.

Source: UEFA Stadium Infrastructure Regulations · recall

Speeds and distances come from positions in metres, so the system has to be calibrated to the real pitch.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

The international minimum is 100 m, most top pitches are 105 m, and no pitch may be longer than 120 m.

Source: IFAB Laws of the Game and competition statements · applied

Calibration comes first; reports are then scaled so that grounds of different sizes can be compared.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A 105 m pitch at a UEFA final is 68 m wide, well inside the international range of 64 to 75 m.

Source: UEFA Stadium Infrastructure Regulations · recall

A player moving to a faster league has to show he can produce the sprints and intensity it asks for.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A winger in a pressing side will sprint far more than one in a deep-lying team, whatever his own capacity.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Wide players must attack and track back again and again, so the number of fast efforts matters most.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Figures that are average in one league may be well below the norm in a faster one.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Moving from a pressing wing role to a more static one changes the demands, and the numbers follow the role.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A fall in repeated sprints can come before any drop in passing or goals, which makes it an early warning.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A player who covers ground well still has to pass, move and decide well, which physical data does not measure.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Physical data is one input: it has to be put in context and then weighed with everything else.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A player's top speed is his own; how often he runs fast, and how far overall, depend heavily on the team's plan.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

He makes 22 sprints per 90 where wingers in the new league average 30; the gap needs explaining before a deal.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

His own baseline shows whether a low or high figure is out of the ordinary for this particular player.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A player who fades after an hour and one who is steady throughout may have the same total.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A player who came off after 60 minutes cannot be compared with one who played 95 without adjusting.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Staff compare the numbers with his pre-injury baseline to decide how quickly to build his minutes back up.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

A comfortable lead or a deep game plan can lower running without anything being wrong with the player.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Benchmarks show whether a full-back's output is normal for full-backs in that league.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · recall

Weather, score, opponent and role all move the numbers from one match to the next.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Context first, then his own baseline, then his position's norms, and only then a conclusion for the coach.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Each step widens the reference, from one game to his season to every player in his role.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied

Twelve sprints against a usual 25 may simply mean he played an hour, or his team sat on a lead.

Source: Tracking-data documentation and sports-science literature on match running · applied