Introduction

Kineanthropometry is a scientific specialty that measures the size, shape, proportions,

composition,

maturation

and

gross

function

of

the

body

structure,

applied

in

studies

related to growth, development, nutrition, exercise, and especially sports performance

(Ross et al., 1991). A more up-to-date definition considers this scientific discipline as the

area

of

science

in

charge

of

measuring

the

composition

of

the

human

body,

which

constitutes

the

union

between

anatomy

and

movement

to

determine

the

capacity

for

function in a wide range of areas (ISAK, 2025).

Knowing the anthropometric characteristics of an athlete is essential to make decisions

that will help improve their performance, constituting a valid and precise method to be

able to make comparisons between athletes of different levels and to monitor the changes

produced by training in body composition (Zaccagni et al., 2019). These morphological

parameters are an essential part of the evaluation and selection of athletes, since they

allow to determine the physical evolution of the player from an early age, which helps

greatly in the intervention of the same.

Because there are different positions on the playing field, it is expected that there will be

statistically significant differences in physiological and anthropometric characteristics.

Therefore,

the

data

obtained

from

studies

on

anthropometric

and

physiological

characteristics

give

coaches

the

opportunity

to

perform

specific

training

for

the

requirements that influence each player according to their specialization (Salazar et al.,

2017).

The

differences

in

the

anthropometric

profile

of

each

player

will

determine

the

performance

and

performance

for

their

mobility

on

the

playing

field,

being

able

to

identify that a goalkeeper does not have the same physical characteristics as a center

camper, so the physical work, technical, tactical and nutritional must be differentiated

according to each individual (Salazar et al., 2017; Fernández et al., 2017). It has also been

shown that goalkeepers have a tendency to accumulate more adipose tissue in certain

areas

of

the

body,

while

midfielders

and

forwardsectomorphic,

because

the

physical

performance of the playing position conditions a greater type of fast fibers and muscle

mass gain (López et al., 2019).

Professional footballers cover total distances between 10 and 13 km per match, while the

average running intensity is close to the anaerobic threshold, requiring high levels of

endurance, speed, strength and coordination skills. In this sense, muscle mass benefits

power

and

speed,

especially

in

the

one-on-one

game

by

giving

an

advantage

to

the

strongest

player,

besides

weight,

height,

muscle

area

of

the

thigh

and

calf

positively

influence this same capacity (Rodríguez, 2019). It is considered that an optimal body

composition

accompanied

by

technical

skills

promotes

a

higher

level

of

sports

performance (Salazar, 2017).

In this sense, scientific evidence has been accumulating in Cuba since the 1980s. At that

time Rodríguez (1987) designed a reference guide which constituted a working tool that

aimed to support the Medical Control of Sports Training. The design of this training was

based on the need to have an instrument that would make it possible to evaluate the

achievement

of

the

physical

objectives

of

the

training.

Subsequently

Carvajal

and

Deturnell (2017)

designed a reference guide that met the same objectives of the previous

study, as this no longer had the same value it had for almost 20 years. The design of the

requirements took into account all athletes who made national shortlists in the period from

the Sydney Olympics to the London 2012 Olympic Cycle. These are the standards that

are currently used in the medical - sports control Cuban.

After the opening of the specialty of Sports Medicine in Villa Clara in 2013, a line of

research

related

to

the

study

of

the

body

composition

of

villaclareños

athletes

was

developed (Collazo Cruz et al., 2021; Hernández Moreno et al., 2023), However, research

on footballers has not

been disclosed despite the remarkable football tradition

of

the

province,

supported

by

the

results

in

national

championships,

which

has

won

in

14

editions.

Taking into account the elements described, a problematic situation is detected by the

existence of regulations for the morphological evaluation of footballers with an age of

more than 10 years. In addition, these rules are general based on data obtained from elite

athletes throughout the country, so they do not have a specific character of a particular

geographical area. In this sense, the villaclarense footballers may have morphological

characteristics that differentiate them from others (Carvajal and

Deturnell, 2017

).

In

relation

to

the

above,

it

is

established

as

a

research

objective

to

determine

the

characteristics of the body composition of high-performance Villavicano footballers in

the period from October 2016 to December 2020 during the preparatory stage of the

national championship.

Methodology

A

retrospective

longitudinal

descriptive

study

was

conducted

with

high-performance

male footballers from Villa Clara. The measurements carried out at the beginning of the

preparatory stage for each national championship held between 2016 and 2020 in Cuba

were taken into account.

Population and sample

The population was made up of all members of male football teams in the social category

of Villa Clara (n=51), where 3.9% participated in four years, 19.6% in three years, 39.2%

in two years and 37.2% in one year. The average age was 22.4 years and sports experience

10.9 years.

Methods, techniques and procedures

The primary data were extracted from the medical and sports history to determine the age

of the players and their sporting experience. In addition, the kineanthropometric data

sheets of each athlete were used to extract data on body composition (weight, height, %

fat,

kg

fat,

active

body

mass

and

AKS).

The

indicators

of

body

composition

were

determined as follows by the technicians of the Kineanthropometry laboratory:

For the calculation of body fat percentage (%CG) we used Withers et al., (1988):

Nomenclature: - PSE: Subscapular Fold.

- PMM: Middle Leg Fold.

- PTR: Tricipital fold.

- PPM: Middle leg fold.

- PSIA: Suprailac fold.

- ED: Decimal Age.

- PAB: Abdominal fold.

- S6 Plg.: Summation of 6 folds

Once the percentage of fat was determined, proceed as follows:

kg of fat = % fat x body weight on scale

100

The reference values of % GC and AKS were those established in the National Institute

of Sports Medicine of Cuba by Carvajal (

Carvajal and

Deturnell, 2016), for each stage of

preparation, as a requirement for this sport during the period 2016-2020. These reference

values are as follows:

Table 1

Cuban regulations on body composition in high-performance footballers

Procedure for obtaining information

After

obtaining

authorization

from

the

institution,

information

was

collected

in

the

archive and laboratory of kineanthropometry at the Provincial Center for Sports Medicine

in Villa Clara. The consultation of the kineanthropometric records of each athlete allowed

to extract the corresponding data with the first medical check-up performed in each year

of the study (2016-2020). For the correct and organized collection of data, a specific

model developed for this purpose was used. Five days in the morning were used to take

all the information, starting from 2016 and ending in 2020.

Statistical Methods

Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to determine the research objectives. The

minimum,

maximum,

average

and

standard

deviation

were

determined.

Asymmetry,

kurtosis

was

also

applied

to

determine

the

type

of

data

distribution.

To

compare

the

variables

between

footballers

from

different

game

positions

and

years

of

study,

the

ANOVA one-factor hypothesis contrast test was used, considering a 95% confidence

interval (p<0.05). For statistical analysis, the SPSS version 22.0 package for Windows

was used, which allowed to summarize and process the collected data and reflect them in

tables and graphs for their proper interpretation.

Ethical considerations

The research was

carried out

in

accordance with the

ethical

principles

set

out

in

the

Declaration of Helsinki and subsequent revisions, related to making medical research

possible for the benefit of society, as well as the preservation of the legal and ethical rights

of the people included in the study. The principles that govern ethics during the process

of scientific research have been fulfilled. As the study design is bibliographic, since data

from records established for measurements to athletes were used, it was not necessary to

request

individual informed consent,

but

assumes responsibility for the results of the

study which will be disclosed or applied only with the authorization of the institution and

for scientific purposes.

Results and discussion

Table

2

describes

the

variables

of

body

composition

at

population

level

without

specifying years or game positions. The result of the data normality test is also shown.

Table 2

Body composition of the footballers studied

Note.

%Gr

= percentage of fat;

KgGr

= kilograms of fat; MCA = active body mass;

AKS

= index of active

substance.

In relation to the Cuban regulations it was observed that the percentage of fat behaved

discreetly above the reference value for the stage, while the index of active substance

behaved very similarly. The variables have a normal distribution.

Table 3 describes the percentage of fat and active substance index variables according to

game positions and national championships in relation to Cuban regulations.

Table 3

Percentage of fat and index of active substance by positions and championships

Note. PT = portero; DF = defence; MC = midfield; DL = forward;

Percentage of fat good

= 7.31 % - 8.1

%; regular = 8.11 % - 8.9 %; mal = 8.91 % - 9.7 %; very bad > 9.7%; Active substance index good = 1.22

% - 1.16 %; regular = 1.15 % - 1.09 %; mal = 1.08 % - 1.02 %, very bad > 1.02.

Table 3 shows that, in general, the percentage of fat (%Gr) was very poorly evaluated,

while the active substance index (AKS) was good. Regarding the playing position, the

midfielders had the best %Gr, although rated badly and the goalkeepers the worst (very

badly), behaving similarly with respect to the AKS, where the midfielders had a value of

1.20 and the goalkeepers of 1,16 although in this case both positions were evaluated well.

Regarding the national championships the best %Gr had the athletes who formed the team

that participated in the national championship of 2017 (regular) and the worst was in 2018

(very bad). With respect to AKS the teams that participated in 2017 and 2019 had the best

values (good), being the teams of 2016 and 2020 the lowest values with 1.17 although

evaluated equally well.

Table 4 describes the variables according to game positions.

Table 4

Body composition according to playing positions

Nota. *p. ≤ 0,05; ** 0.01 (bilateral significance)

Table 4 shows that, with the exception of the active substance index (AKS), all other

variables show statistically significant differences depending on game positions. It was

observed that the goalkeepers presented an average significantly higher than that of the

rest of the playing positions, being they who differed from the rest of the positions.

Table 5 describes the variables of body composition at population level according to

national championships.

Table 5

Body composition according to national championships

Nota. *p. ≤ 0,05; ** 0.01 (bilateral significance)

Table

5

shows

that

there

were

statistically

significant

differences

in

relation

to

the

percentage of fat and kilograms of fat compared to the national championships studied.

The players of the team that participated in the 2018 edition showed a significantly higher

average in both variables compared to the team of the 2017 edition.

The results of this study showed that the average weight was 73.23 8.86 kg and the size

176.54

7.64

cm,

being

similar

to

those

obtained

by

Rojas

Valverde

et

al.

(2016),

in

professional players of first division of Costa Rica (Pino et al., 2019). They also coincide

with another study conducted in the Peruvian U22 team (Deidan Saavedra and Moreno

Reyes, 2020) and in Ecuadorian footballers (Hernández Mosqueira et al., 2022).

In Cuba there is the antecedent of a research carried out by Pérez Castillo et al. (2020)

where they determined the anthropometric characteristics of the footballers that formed

the province of Granma, showing similar results. Discreetly higher values were found in

a research published by Vieira et al. (2019), where 257 players had an average body mass

of 76.7 9.6 kg and a size of 178 0.05 cm.

According to López Cáceres et al. (2019), footballers must have a body fat percentage of

10-11% ( 2 DE), as obtained in the present study. It is important to mention that, although

the regulations of Football in Cuba (Carvajal and Deturnell, 2016) do not recognize this,

the data obtained in villaclarenses footballers resemble international results, coinciding

with several background findings (Deidan et al., 2020; Pérez Castillo et al., 2020; Pino et

al., 2019). On the other hand, Rojas Valverde et al. (2016), obtained a body fat percentage

of

15.65

5.14

which

exceeds

by

almost

5%

the

current

finding,

while

Hernández

Mosqueira et al. (2022) obtained an average fat percentage of 21,7 3.3 surpassing the

athletes of Villa Clara by more than 10%.

In terms of kilograms of fat (KgGr), active body mass (ACM) and active substance index

(AKS) this study is similar to the research conducted by Pérez Castillo et al. (2020) in the

province of Granma, showing parity in body composition between the two provinces. In

both cases, according to the regulations of Futbol in Cuba (Carvajal and Deturnell, 2016),

the AKS was evaluated well, which speaks for a good musculoskeletal development.

When

analyzing

the

anthropometric

characteristics

of

the

players

according

to

their

playing position, it was observed that goalkeepers had a higher weight (82.57 kg), height

(183.06 cm), percentage of fat (%Gr) (14.18), kilograms of fat ( KgGr ) (11.86), and

active body mass (ABM) (70.77). These differences were significant when compared to

the other playing positions (weight p=0.00; height p=0.00; %Gr p=0.00; KgGr p=0.00;

ABM p=0.00), which could be associated with the lower energy expenditure due to the

less time goalkeepers spend in movement during training and competition (Rodríguez et

al., 2019).

An analysis of the physical demands of soccer has shown that goalkeepers have the lowest

demands in terms of distance covered and intensity during a match. Players who cover

the

most

ground

on

the

field

can

travel

between

10

and

11

km

per

game,

while

goalkeepers cover around 5.6 km per game, almost half the distance of other positions.

This could explain the higher prevalence of adipose tissue in goalkeepers (Rodríguez et

al., 2019). The higher levels of muscle mass would be explained by the action patterns

characteristic of the position, with those related to high force production per unit of time

being

the

most

prevalent,

and

the

corresponding

impact

on

muscle

architecture

(Hernández Mosqueira et al., 2022).

These findings are consistent with those of Díaz Cano et al. (2021) in professional soccer

players in Colombia, where goalkeepers were found to have greater body weight, height,

percentage

of

body

fat,

kilograms

of

fat,

and

lean

body

mass.

Similarly,

Hernández

Mosqueira et al. (2022) found that goalkeepers had greater weight, height, fat mass, and

muscle mass, differing significantly from the other positions.

The results obtained are consistent with studies of Uruguayan professional footballers

(Fernández et al., 2017), Italian first division footballers (Milanese et al., 2015), UEFA

Europa League players ( Radzimiñski et al., 2020), and footballers who were part of the

Granma Social team (Pérez Castillo et al., 2020). In this last study, forwards presented

the lowest averages in terms of weight, height, and body fat percentage, differing from

our research, where midfielders presented the lowest values.

Deidan Saavedra et al. (2020) and Moran Zuloaga et al.

(2022) found that the average

weight and height of soccer players studied by playing position are consistent with the

evidence obtained, with goalkeepers being the heaviest and tallest. However, regarding

body fat percentage, their studies determined that

midfielders had the highest values,

which is not the case in the current research, where midfielders presented the lowest body

fat

percentages.

When

analyzing

the

anthropometric

characteristics

of

the

players

according to national championships, it was observed that the athletes who made up the

team that participated in 2018 presented a significantly higher average in terms of body

fat percentage (12.44%) and kilograms of fat (9.68) compared to the 2017 team (8.54 and

6.04 respectively), these differences being statistically significant (%BF p=0.01; KgBF

p=0.02).

The divergent results may indicate the lack of a single model for the body composition of

a soccer team, as this varies depending on several factors. However, it was found that the

team that participated in 2016, which won the national championship, had an average

body fat percentage of 10.90 and an average body fat percentage of 8.01 kilograms, values

that

are

intermediate

between

those

found

in

the

2017

and

2018

teams,

showing

no

significant difference from either. Nevertheless, despite having won the championship, it

cannot

be stated that this is

the ideal

body composition

for elite soccer teams

in

the

province of Villa Clara or in Cuba, since the research did not consider other factors that

influence the analyzed variables, nor was each athlete followed up during the national

championships.

Conclusions

During the preparatory stage for the National Championship, footballers in the Villa Clara

province's social category were characterized by having a body composition similar to

that of other national and international teams. Goalkeepers presented significantly higher

averages

compared

to

other

playing

positions

in

terms

of

weight,

height,

body

fat

percentage, kilograms of fat, and lean body mass. The team that participated in the 2018

National Football Championship showed statistically significant differences compared to

the 2017 team in terms of body fat percentage and kilograms of fat.

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