Football fitness: Do you cover the distance of a Premier League player?

Football fitness is one of the most important aspects of a player’s game. You may have great ball skills, but coaches will see through your game if your fitness isn’t up to scratch. At a football trial, coaches will be able to determine just how fit you are or aren’t. Of course, you can always get fitter if a club signs you, but often, teams won’t sign players who can’t cut it for 90 minutes.

Football Fitness: Premier League distance

Many football fans and experts see the English Premier League as the most physical league in the world. While tactical knowledge and skill may be lacking from some of its teams, football fitness is a key element of each club’s performance.

In a recent FourFourTwo article, the magazine released data on the distance the average Premier League player covers. The average Premier League player runs 10.5 kilometres per league match. In comparison, research found that the average amateur league player ran 7.8 kilometres. Therefore, not only does a top-flight player need to be more physically fit, but they must have a high level of stamina, too.

Football fitness: By position

When researchers looked into Premier League player positions, they found that defenders at the top level run far more than defenders at the amateur level. A Premier League defender covers 10.5 kilometres while an amateur defensive player runs 7.27 kilometres. The figure shows that amateur defenders don’t join in the attack and offensive third in the lower levels as they do in the top-flight. If you are a defender, joining in on the attack and making overlapping runs could be the difference between you and everyone else.

The modern game’s fast pace and quick defenders joining in on the attack makes fitness incredibly important these days. To get signed, make sure your fitness is in peak condition for your next trial. www.premierfootballuk.com