The performance, health and development of youth women's footballers: A systematic scoping review

Abstract

The primary aim of this scoping review was to summarise the current scientific literature on the performance, health and development of youth women's footballers. The review provides a summary of the research topics, including methodological approaches adopted and key findings, and identifies gaps in the literature. A systematic search of electronic databases was conducted in December 2023 and June 2025, with keywords relating to the population, football, and performance, health and development. Studies which involved youth women's footballers playing at any competitive standard, and quantified at least one aspect of performance, health or development were included. Of the 16,473 studies identified in the database searches, 294 studies met the eligibility criteria to be included in the review. Of the eight research topics investigating the performance, health and development of youth women's footballers, physical qualities was the most investigated ( <jats:italic toggle="yes">n</jats:italic> = 119; 40%), followed by injury ( <jats:italic toggle="yes">n</jats:italic> = 49; 17%), biomechanics ( <jats:italic toggle="yes">n</jats:italic> = 40; 14%), psychology ( <jats:italic toggle="yes">n</jats:italic> = 31; 11%), match-play ( <jats:italic toggle="yes">n</jats:italic> = 20; 7%), nutrition ( <jats:italic toggle="yes">n</jats:italic> = 14; 5%), fatigue and recovery ( <jats:italic toggle="yes">n</jats:italic> = 13; 4%) and training load ( <jats:italic toggle="yes">n</jats:italic> = 8; 3%). Players competing in regional (42%) and national competitions (32%), and within an U17 age-group (23%) were the most investigated. Over half of all studies (56%) were published from 2020 onwards, demonstrating recent rapid growth in youth women's football literature. This comprehensive resource can be used to inform practices supporting the performance, health and development of youth women's footballers across various competitive standards. Furthermore, multiple research areas are highlighted as underdeveloped, and areas for future research concerning this population to explore.