A scoping review of the research supporting coaching practice in women's football - as the game grows the research strives to keep up.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to scope the available peer-reviewed literature on competitive women's football, identifying and mapping the current research on supporting coaching practice in women's football. The study reviewed all women's football-related studies scoped by Okholm Kryger et al. (2021) for their relevance to coaching in women's football. Additionally, an updated search was performed from PubMed (1966-2023), PsycINFO (1967-2023), Web of Science (1900-2023), Scopus (1788-2023), SPORTDiscus (1892-2023) on 7 December 2023. The author, journal, title, and abstract of all included studies were scoped. Information extracted during the scoping process included: the population, playing level, age group, environment, study type, and geographical location of the research. A total of 373 articles were scoped. The publication topic most frequently researched was Performance Analysis - Physical (20%), followed by Performance Analysis - Technical/Tactical (18%) and Maturation/Talent Identification (13%). Most studies were focused on coaching senior players (n = 207, 55%) and elite football (n = 189, 51%). Despite the volume of research growing each year, it is noticeable that there are gaps in the research. Five topics only had a single figure number of articles (Teaching and Learning Strategies, Coach Education/Development, Socio-Cultural Experience's of Coaching, Coaching Philosophy, and Responsibilities/Role in Football). At present given there is a particular emphasis on certain playing levels, playing populations, and research topics, there is a dearth of information in certain areas. As such, researchers should work to ensure there is greater thematic depth as well as an increased volume of research in women's football.