Relative Age Effect in Turkish Women Football

Abstract

In this study, it was aimed to examine the relative age effect of female football players playing in the Turkish Women's Super League and 1st League teams in the 2022-2023 Season. Working group; while the female football players playing licensed in the women's football leagues affiliated to the Turkish Football Federation constitute the sample, the players in the Women's Football Super League and the 1st League teams constitute the sample. While determining the sample, the density sampling method was preferred. Density sampling is generally used by studies involving the heuristic approach. The heuristic approach is accepted as the only research approach that enables individuals to establish subjective and creative relationships between the person researching their experiences and the facts. In the model of the research; The "Basic Qualitative Research" technique, the "Document Analysis" method in the data collection tool and the Miles-Huberman analysis method, which is a descriptive analysis method, were used in the analysis. This study was conducted by considering female football players of different skill levels and chronological ages. The aim of the study was to compare the birth date of female football players. In the findings part of the study; Birth dates of 1552 female football players were revealed. It was determined that 863 female football players were born in the first six months of the year and 689 female football players were born in the last six months of the year. In conclusion; It has been observed that the players of the teams in the 2022-2023 Women's Football Super League and the 1st League are affected by the relative age effect.