Physiological response and activity profile in recreational small-sided football: no effect of the number of players.

We examined the effect of the number of players on the activity profile and physiological response to small-sided recreational football games with fixed relative pitch size. Twelve untrained men (age: 33.0 ± 6.4 (± standard deviation) years, fat%: 22.4 ± 6.1%, VO₂ max: 43.3 ± 5.2 mL/min/kg) completed three football sessions of 4 times 12 min with 3v3, 5v5, or 7v7 in a randomized order. Pitch sizes were 80 m(2) per player. Activity profile (10 Hz global positioning system), heart rate (HR), and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were measured, and blood samples were collected before and during games. Average HR was 84.1 ± 3.9, 84.5 ± 5.0, and 82.8 ± 5.1 %HRmax for 3v3, 5v5, and 7v7, respectively, with no difference between game formats. High blood lactate (5.9 ± 2.9, 5.9 ± 2.4, and 5.5 ± 2.9 mmol/L) and plasma NH₃ concentrations (124 ± 48, 112 ± 38, and 126 ± 55 μmol/L, respectively) were observed during 3v3, 5v5, and 7v7, respectively, with no difference between formats. Similar total distance (3676 ± 478, 3524 ± 467, and 3577 ± 500 m), high-intensity distance (349 ± 145, 406 ± 134, and 409 ± 165 m), and RPE (4.7 ± 1.6, 4.9 ± 2.1, and 4.6 ± 1.8) were also observed. The number of intense accelerations (500 ± 139 vs 459 ± 143 and 396 ± 144) were higher (P < 0.05) during 3v3 than 5v5 and 7v7. In conclusion, the intensity is high during small-sided recreational football games, with similar physiological responses for 6-14 players when pitch size is adapted, providing further evidence that effective recreational football training is easy to organize.