Should soccer players re-warm-up at half-time? An exploratory randomized controlled trial in a professional women`s team

Purpose: This exploratory study investigated the effects of a 3-minute re-warm-up protocol implemented during halftime on sprint and jump performance in female soccer players. Methods: Twenty-two professional female soccer players from 2 Portuguese clubs from First and Second Divisions were randomly assigned to either a control group (G1: passive rest) or an experimental group (G2: re-warm-up). The Integrated Re-warm-up soccer protocol, performed by G2, consisted of 6 FIFA 11+ power exercises and a small-sided game. Performance was measured using a 20-m sprint and countermovement jump at baseline (post-warm-up) and after the half-time intervention. A 2-way analysis of variance (group × time) was conducted for analysis, with effect sizes reported as partial eta squared (n2p). Results: A time × group interaction was found for sprint performance (F = 6.66, P = .019, n2p=.27), favoring the experimental group (G1: -0.25 s vs G2: -0.40 s). For countermovement jump performance, no time × group interaction was observed (F = 2.66, P = .483, n2p=.02), although a main effect of time effect was detected (F = 10.34, P = .005, n2p=.36); both groups showed a decrease in jump height, but to a lesser extent in the re-warm-up group (G1: -2.85 cm vs G2: -1.82 cm). Conclusions: A brief 3-minute re-warm-up protocol implemented at halftime improved sprint performance compared to passive rest. These findings suggest that time-efficient re-warm-up protocols, combining FIFA 11+ power exercises and small-sided games may be useful during the half-time interval in female soccer players.
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Bibliographic Details
Subjects:
Notations:sport games
Tagging:Halbzeit
Published in:International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance
Language:English
Published: 2026
Volume:21
Issue:6
Pages:734-741
Document types:article
Level:advanced