Finnegan, L, Richardson, DJ, Littlewood, MA and McArdle, J (2017) The influence of date and place of birth on youth player selection to a National Football Association elite development programme. Science and Medicine in Football, 1 (1). pp. 30-39. ISSN 2473-3938

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Abstract

Aim: This study sought to examine whether the place and date of birth of elite youth Irish footballers influences their selection onto the Football Association of Ireland's primary development pathway; 12 regional centres of excellences called the “Emerging Talent Programme” (ETP). The proposed hypothesis was that players born earlier in the year would be over-represented compared to those born later in their age band. A secondary hypothesis was that access to the ETP would be independent of place of birth. Methods: The dates and place of birth of all elite youth footballers (n = 1936) selected onto the ETP since its inception were examined. χ2 tests were used to establish if the dates of birth differed from the expected population distribution. Odds ratios were used to identify spatial variation in relation to place of birth and talent production. Results: The results showed that admission to the ETP is not independent of quarter of birth (P .05, χ2 = 256.817, w = .388). Place of birth analysis showed an unequal geographical distribution of players gaining selection onto the ETP. Selection onto the ETP was not independent of place of birth (P < .05, χ2 = 149.457, w = .278). Footballers developed in counties that had an ETP centre were almost 50% more likely to gain selection than those without a centre (OR 1.455, 95% CI 1.314 -1.612). Conclusion: The current programme demonstrates inequitable distribution of opportunities to access elite development pathways due to biases related to date and place of birth.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	“This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Science and Medicine in Football on 14th November 2016, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/02640414.2016.1254807
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GV Recreation Leisure > GV561 Sports
Divisions:	Sport & Exercise Sciences
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Date Deposited:	27 Mar 2017 10:44
Last Modified:	20 Apr 2022 09:09
DOI or ID number:	10.1080/02640414.2016.1254807
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/6081

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