ANTHROPOMETRIC DATA OF THE PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL PLAYERS OF BUKOVYNA
Authors: Karatieieva S. Yu. 
Published: July 2023

Since such a team game as football is a high-intensity sport that requires athletes to be active for 90 minutes, covering distances of up to 7 miles during a game on the field, according to Dr. Howard Libeskind, an orthopedist for the U.S. national soccer team. In our opinion, although many methods are currently available to assess the anatomical parameters of the body, there is no criterion methodology specifically defined for football players. Any coach wants to achieve the maximum possible result, especially in football. So, for the purpose to establish the anatomical parameters of the "University" football masters team of Ukraine, a study was conducted on 32 respondents aged from 16 to 18 years. The main group was made up of 16 players of the "University" football team of masters of sports of Ukraine. The control group consisted of 16 young boys that are studying at a higher education institution in Bukovyna (Bukovyna State Medical University). The representatives of the main group were practically healthy (no history of congenital or chronic pathology was noted), masters of sports of Ukraine, who systematically trained intensively and participated in championships of Ukraine among higher educational institutions, under the leadership of the team coach. Training took place 3-4 times a week, 1.5 hours on average. The subjects of the control group were also practically healthy young men who were loaded with hours of physical education, according to the programs of their specialty, and additionally did not play sports.

Anthropometric examination included determination of total (body length and weight) parameters and partial (length of upper and lower limbs, thigh length, chest circumference during inhalation, exhalation and at rest, pelvic circumference, thigh circumference in the upper third, in the middle and lower third). Statistical analysis of the obtained data was carried out using the licensed program RStudio. A paired t-test (t-test of paired samples) was conducted to compare the indicators of the studied main and control groups. According to the results, the length of the right upper limbs is on average 78.50±2.02 cm, the left - 78.75±2.02 cm. The length of the right lower limbs is 92.63±2.06 cm, the left - 92.44±2 .06 cm. The average length of the right and left thigh is 52.25±2.04 cm. The circumference of the thigh in the upper third on the right is 55.31±2.03 cm, on the left – 54.18±2.03 cm, in the middle third on the right thigh, the indicator was 49.13±2.01 cm, on the left - 52.44±2.01 cm, in the lower third on the right, the average indicator is 44.31±2.06 cm, while on the left - 45.00± 2.06 cm.

Football players have a lower weight index (± 2.54 kg), in contrast to the studied control group, taking into account the fact that the height in both groups is almost the same. It was established that the upper limbs of football players are longer on the right by ± 2.22 cm, on the left by ± 2.42 cm, than the upper limbs of representatives of the control group. The right lower limbs are longer by ±4.5 cm, the left by ±4.35 cm. The excursion of the chest is greater in football players, as it amounted to ±9.19 cm, in contrast to the respondents of the control group ±7.76 cm. The circumference of the pelvis of football players is smaller by ±2.22 cm from the circumference of the pelvis of the subjects of the control group. The circumference of the thigh in the upper third of football players on the right prevails by ±2.22 cm, on the left by ±5.00 cm; the thigh circumference in the middle on the right is greater by ±4.56 cm, on the left there is almost no difference; the thigh circumference in the lower third is greater on the right by ±1.12 cm, on the left by 1.6 cm.