Research being presented this week at the British Psychological Society Division of Sport Exercise Psychology annual conference in Manchester suggests that paper based planning can enhance footballers match performance and reduce pre-match anxiety.

The preliminary study, carried out by Chris Ventouris and Natasha Soureti from New York College Athens in collaboration with Greenwich University, aimed to understand whether pre-game planning would aid footballer’s performance and reduce pre-game anxiety.

Over 80 footballers from professional and semi-professional football teams were allocated in to two groups. One group was given different game scenarios and asked to select possible solutions from a list. The other group carried out self-assessments. 

Analysis showed that planning had a significant effect on how footballers perceived their performance and their pre-game anxiety

Chris said: “The study demonstrates that the act of mentally preparing oneself for competitive games by thinking of potential scenarios and actions can help reduce match nerves and enhance performance. The key for aiding performance is what cognitive automaticity planning achieves. Footballers can provide themselves with quick enough in-game solutions before letting their performance deteriorate! ”

The full conference programme can be accessed here.

The Division of Sport Exercise Psychology promotes the professional interests of sport and exercise psychologists.The Division aims to develop psychology as a profession and as a body of knowledge and skills. Click here for more information.