Is the Relative Age Effect prevalent in the most important Brazilian soccer youth competition?

• Lucas Savassi Figueiredo

  Federal University of Minas Gerais

• Davi Amador Fioreti Costa

  Universidade Federal de Juiz de Fora

  https://orcid.org/0009-0006-6122-6873 (unauthenticated)

• Henrique de Oliveira Castro

  Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Mato Grosso, Brazil

  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0545-164X (unauthenticated)

• Gustavo de Conti Teixeira Costa

  Federal University of Goiás

  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0911-8753 (unauthenticated)

• Lidiane Aparecida Fernandes

  Federal University of Ouro Preto

  https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8909-1612 (unauthenticated)

• Lucas de Castro Ribeiro

  6Universidade de Trás-Os-Montes e Alto Douro

  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9498-1473 (unauthenticated)

Aim: Investigate the prevalence of the Relative Age Effect (RAE) in 2023 Copa São Paulo de Futebol Júnior and its association with athletes' ages and team final placement. Methods: Data from 3.743 youth male soccer players were collected. The variables analyzed included the players’ birth quarters, players’ birth years, and final placement in the competition. Chi-square goodness of fit tests (χ²) were performed to compare the birthdate distribution of athletes for each of the variables. Odds ratios and effect sizes (V) were also calculated for these analyses. Results: The overall analysis of the birth quarters indicated an overrepresentation of athletes born in the first semester of the year (p < 0.001). The analysis based on the athletes’ birth years followed a similar pattern for all age groups (p < 0.001) but indicated that the RAE was more pronounced in younger players (V = 0.71 compared to V = 0.47 in older athletes). The birth quarters analysis based on the team’s final placement in the competition also revealed that athletes born in the first months of the year were more frequent than those born in the last months (p < 0.001), which was even more pronounced in the top-ranked teams (V = 0.88 compared to V = 0.48 in low-ranked teams). Conclusion: We concluded that RAE was prevalent in the pool of players who participated in the 2023 edition, regardless of their age and final placement in the competition, reinforcing that RAE is highly prevalent in the Brazilian elite youth soccer context.

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• Sport Psychology
• Sports Management
• Sport Training
• Sports Coaching
• Sports Science

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