Monitoring of Perceived Load, Fatigue and Recovery within National Football Team Contexts
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2023
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This thesis firstly examined the training load profiles of international footballers as they transitioned from club-to-camp-to-tournament contexts. Subsequently, the effect of match load on international footballers’ self-reported fatigue and recovery profiles during congested and non-congested tournament microcycles were examined, in addition to player’s self-reported usage of recovery interventions relative to playing status. The findings showed that contextual transitions alter the accumulation and distribution of internal training load in international footballers, with practitioners advised to seek prior knowledge of player’s club-based training loads to help manage camp and tournament training accordingly. During international tournaments, variations in player’s perceived fatigue status were largely responsive to the presence of match load. However, concerns remain in relation to the validity and reliability of using multi-item and single-item self-report measures to assess athlete’s training ‘response’, with ambiguous findings surrounding international footballers perceived fatigue response during congested match schedules. To counter transient worsening in post-match perceived fatigue/recovery status, practitioners should be mindful of the influence that they have on player’s recovery intervention choices, with key information such as the initial targeting of physiological recovery strategies and provision/timing of different recovery options.
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