Correlation of Body Composition and Coordination of Specific Footballers' Position among Professional Football Players

ABSTRACT: The game of football is a competitive team sport that requires an essential component of motor fitness, body composition, psychological, technical, and tactical components for enhanced performance. This study assessed the correlation of body composition and coordination of specific footballers’ positions among professional football players. This study utilised a correlational research design. Participants in this study comprised twenty-nine (29) football players who play for a professional team in Nigeria. There were 12 forwards, 6 midfielders, 4 goalkeepers, and 7 defenders among the participants. The participants' hand-eye coordination was evaluated using the alternate hand wall toss test. The beurer diagnostic scale was used to measure the participants' body fat percentage and muscle mass. Results were analysed using pearson's product moment correlation and linear regression. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. A significant positive moderate correlation was observed between muscle mass and coordination among forwards (r = 0.550, p = 0.044). There was no significant correlation between muscle mass and coordination among defenders, midfielders, and goalkeepers. Likewise, there was no significant correlation between body fat percentage and coordination among football players in all the playing positions. The hand-eye coordination of forwards is significantly correlated with their muscle mass. In other words, a forward's muscle mass affects their degree of hand-eye coordination. Therefore, football regulatory bodies and trainers could utilise the muscle mass of forwards to predict their hand-eye coordination ability. This finding should be considered by the coaches and governing bodies of football teams before designating players to playing positions in the game of football. Furthermore, there is a need for training programs specifically designed to monitor and enhance the muscle mass of forwards in a football team in order to enhance hand-eye coordination