Soccer Specific Testing

Of the hundreds of fitness tests on Topend Sports, there are many tests designed specifically to assess the fitness of football/soccer players. These can be used for assessing the fitness of football/soccer players, in combination with other generic fitness tests. See our discussion of testing soccer players.

Soccer Agility Tests

• FIFA Change of Direction (CODA) Test — this agility test assesses the assistant referee's ability to quickly change direction. It involves bouts of forwards and sideways running over 8-10 meters.
• Balsom Agility — this agility test was developed for soccer players. It involves running around a series of cones, making several changes of directions and two sharp 180 degree turns.

Soccer Intermittent Tests

• FIFA Interval Test 1 (also called the FIFA High-Intensity Fitness Test or Repeated Sprint Ability) — this test was developed specifically for soccer referees. It involves 6 x 40m sprints with 60 seconds recovery between bouts.
• FIFA Interval Test 2 (also called the FIFA Fitness Interval Run Test) —  this is another test for Referees and Assistant Referees, involving 75m run, 25m walk, 75m run, 25m walk, repeating this sequence for up to 10 laps (a total of 4000m).
• FIT Interval Test — this test was developed initially to mimic the demands of soccer players, involving varied locomotive patterns, changes of pace, changes of direction and a recovery period. Specifically, it involves running 10 and 25 yards circuits in diminishing times, with 30 seconds rest between sets.

football training

Soccer Endurance Tests

• Yo-Yo Intermittent Tests — this endurance test was developed for soccer players but is used widely for many other sports. It involves running 2 x 20m shuttles followed by a short active break (5 or 10 seconds ). The running speed increases over time, and the players continue until exhaustion. There are two versions of each Yo-Yo Intermittent Test, a beginners Level 1 and advanced level 2.
• Futsal Intermittent Endurance Test — designed for futsal players, this test consists of running 45m (3x15m) shuttles performed at progressive speeds until exhaustion.

Soccer Combined Fitness Tests

• Loughborough Intermittent Shuttle Test (also known as the LIST) — includes periods of jogging, running and sprinting, designed to simulate the physiological demands of soccer matches.
• Assistant Referee Intermittent Endurance Test (ARIET) — an intermittent yo-yo type test involving forwards and sideways running created specifically for football assistant referees.
• Footeval — a football (soccer) specific fitness test, based on the 20m beep test, though it incorporates dribbling of a soccer ball and 30 second rest periods after every minute.