Relative Age and Dropout in French Male Soccer

Nicolas Delorme (1) , Julie Boiché (2) , Michel Raspaud (1)

1 SENS - Sport et Environnement Social
2 CURAPS - Centre Universitaire de Recherche en Activités Physiques et Sportives

The aim of this study was to examine the birthdates distribution of French male soccer players (n = 363,590) who dropped out during or after the 2006-2007 season, to test whether the Relative Age Effect (RAE) is linked to the dropout behaviour. An over-representation of players born late in the competitive year was found among dropouts, from the U9 to the U18 age categories, whereas their counterparts born earlier in the year were under-represented. The distortion of the distribution was particularly important for the extreme quarters of the competitive year, and in the U13 and U15 categories. This biased distribution was however not confirmed regarding the U7 category. Finally, regarding the adult category, an unbiased distribution of dropouts was found as hypothesized. Practical implications to avoid the negative consequences of RAE are advanced.

Mots clés: Relative age effect; soccer; dropout

Domaines: Sociologie; Psychologie

Nicolas Delorme, Julie Boiché, Michel Raspaud. Relative Age and Dropout in French Male Soccer. Journal of Sports Sciences, 2010, 28 (7), pp.717-722. ⟨10.1080/02640411003663276⟩. ⟨hal-00452093⟩