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Height Is Not Predictive Of Starting Nor Playing Time In FIFA World Cup Female Athletes

Identifying what constitutes performance in elite athletes is critical in developing a basis and understanding of what to strive for, for athletes and coaches. Next College Student Athlete (NCSA), a recruiting company, lists minimal height provisions for elite female soccer players of 165cm (5‘4‖) across positions. Proclaiming height, an inalterable characteristic, as a measure of performance, is detrimental to athletes and the sport. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to determine if differences in performance exist among players of different height, ≥165cm and <165cm. METHODS: Age, height, position, number of assists, and number of goals for 288 female soccer players from the 2019 World Cup were recorded. Players were only included if they played an average of ≥60 minutes when entered into a match. Independent t-tests were used to examine differences between players >165cm and <165cm. Data are reported as mean difference [95% confidence interval] (MD [95%CI]). Statistical significance was set at p<0.05, a priori. RESULTS: Of athletes <165cm, 31 of 109 (28.44%) were defenders, 18 of 66 (27.27%) were forwards, and 44 of 84 (52.38%) were midfielders. 20.34% of goals and 28.77% of assists were made by players <165cm. Among number of goals made by players <165cm, 58.33% were by forwards and 41.67% by midfielders. Among number of assists made by players <165cm, 42.86% were by forwards, 28.57% by midfielders, and 28.57% by defenders. There were no significant differences between players >165 and players <165 in regard to the number of assists made between forwards and defenders (MD [95%CI], forwards, 0.17[-0.21,0.54], p=0.908; defenders, 0.03[-0.19,0.24], p=0.589. A statistically significant difference was found in the number of goals scored among forwards of the two height groups (MD [95%CI], 0.41[-1.02,0.20], p=0.012). Among midfielders in the two height groups, a significant difference was found in the number of assists and the number of goals made (MD [95%CI], number of assists, -0.44[-0.76,-0.11], p=0.005; number of goals -0.35[-0.69,-0.01], p=0.000). CONCLUSION: Height contributed to performance in number of goals scored by midfielders and forwards, but not in assists among forwards and defenders. 20.34% of goals and 28.77% of assists were by players <165cm.