Selected Physiological Profile among Malaysian 3rd Tier Fam League Football Players

The purpose of this study was to determine physiological profile of body composition, power, speed, agility, VO₂max, anaerobic capacity and muscular endurance of Malaysian 3rd tier football league players based on four different positions named goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and strikers. An ex post facto design was employed. Twenty eight [ n: 28; mean (±SD) age 24.78 (±3.28); height 172.69 (±4.63) cm; and weight 71.19 (± 8.42) kg] of footballers of Sime Darby FC participated with different positions of play in the field (goalkeeper: 4, defender: 11, midfielder: 8, striker: 5). The fitness testing involved were anthropometrics which include skinfold test, squat vertical jump, 30 meters maximal sprint, Illinois agility run test, Yo-Yo intermittent recovery level 1 test, repeated sprint ability test, and maximum push up test. All testing were in accordance to standard procedures. Inferential analysis was carried out using one-way ANOVA and Tukey post hoc to reveal the sources of significant with p<.05 denoting significant. Goalkeepers were observed in their best performance in terms of height, weight, body fat percentages and lean body weight; and also best performance in peak power of squat jump and anaerobic capacity in terms of fatigue index. Defenders were observed in their best performance in terms of height and relative power of squat jump; and muscular endurance. Midfielders were observed in their highest distance and VO²max of aerobic capacity. Strikers were observed in their best performance in speed and agility and anaerobic power in terms of best and mean time score. The overall findings did not reveal the significant difference in height, body fat percentages, power, speed, and aerobic capacity. However, the significant difference was found in body weight and lean body weight between goalkeeper (p: 0.037) vs midfielder (p: 0.033) respectively. The significant difference was observed in agility between goalkeeper vs defender (p: 0.001), midfielder (p: 0.000) and striker (p: 0.000), and respectively; and defender vs striker (p: 0.001). It also showed the significant difference in RSA mean time score between goalkeeper vs defender (p: 0.013), midfielder and striker, (p: 0.020) and (p: 0.046) respectively. All parameters met the assumption of homogeneity and demonstrated the moderate level of power estimation based on Omega-square index. There were general similarities among members of the team, probably the result of a typical common training programme of the team. The significant difference found in weight, lean body weight, agility and anaerobic power in terms of mean score parameters were insightful with regards to specific fitness requirement based on different playing positions on other health and skill related to the aspect of the games.