Thu, 28 Oct, 2021
Kuala Lumpur: Data shows that the same frequency of games can be maintained in a football competition whether they are talking place in hot or temperate countries, a senior physiologist from Aspetar – Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital has said on Friday.
Dr. Sebastien Racinais was making his presentation “Playing football in hot environment: effect on performance, recovery, health and acclimatisation” during the 4th AFC Conference 2011 on Science and Football Medicine taking place here on March 18-20.
He said data on football players travelling to hot countries to train and compete showed that significant acclimatisation was attained within six days.
“Despite this, there was less distance covered, less high intensity training, fewer sprint and longer recovery periods between sprints in a match played in a hot environment as compared to a neutral environment.
“However, the maximal speed obtained was faster in hot than neutral environment. The kinetics of recovery of various performance indexes does not seem to be affected by the environmental temperature in which the game has been played,” he explained.
However, playing football games in a hot environment is not only a question of performance but also of health and safety for the players, added Dr. Racinais.
“In comparison to most voluntary activities in a hot environment performed outdoors or in a laboratory’s setting, the competitive setting is associated with a strong motivation to win that could override the natural decrease in activity generally observed within increasing body temperature.
“Data from football matches supports this theory with quadriceps muscle of up to 42°C and central temperatures over 40°C having been observed in football players.
“Beyond sport, data from football games played in a hot environment facilitates a better understanding of how humans respond and regulate their behaviours in relation to their temperatures,” he said.