Among 56 female academy footballers, maturity offset correlated with 10 m, 30 m and change-of-direction times, but not countermovement jump, reactive strength or relative hip-abductor strength. Post-PHV players were faster than circa-PHV players, and birth-date plus maturation distributions were uneven. This suggests selection bias toward current physical maturity, not greater long-term talent.
Key findings
- Maturity offset correlated with 10 m (r=−0.33, p=.014), 30 m (r=−0.44, p
Why this matters globally
Academies can use bio-banding, maturity-adjusted benchmarks and retention of late maturers to reduce talent loss, without turning maturation estimates into a new exclusion rule.
Thai researcher contribution
Alex Bliss is a Visiting Professor at Mahidol University and corresponding author, linking Thai sport-science capacity to international female-football development. The academy sample was not identified as Thai.
Limitations to consider
The cross-sectional sample came from one academy. Equation-based maturity estimates have individual error; uneven distributions do not prove intentional bias, and no longitudinal retention or future performance was measured.