Executive Function (Cognition)NCT07284940
Cognitive-Integrated Soccer Training and Performance
A study testing Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice and Conventional Soccer Practice in people with Executive Function (Cognition) and Soccer Training, run by Fan Mao at 1 site in China.
Trial summary
This study will examine whether an 8-week soccer-specific cognitive-motor training program can improve executive functions, decision-making, and soccer skill performance in youth soccer players. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 16 to 18 years, men onlyHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Executive Function (Cognition), Soccer Training, Performance
- What is being tested?
- Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice and Conventional Soccer Practice
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 64 participants
- Where
- 1 siteChina
- Study dates
- 15 Feb 2024to 27 Jun 2024
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 16 to 18 years
- Men only
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Child, Adult
Who may be able to join
- Male adolescents aged 16-18 years;
- Healthy students with no recent injury affecting movement or physical activity;
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision;
- Not taking any medication during the study period;
Who cannot join
- Diagnosed neurological disorders;
- Diagnosed musculoskeletal disorders;
- Use of medications known to affect cognitive function
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
China1 site
Qingdao University, School of Physical Education
Qingdao, Shandong, 266071
About this study
Official title: Effects of Soccer-Specific Cognitive-Motor Training on Executive Functions, Decision-Making, and Skill Performance in Soccer Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial
This study will examine whether an 8-week soccer-specific cognitive-motor training program can improve executive functions, decision-making, and soccer skill performance in youth soccer players. Soccer players often need to scan the field, process information quickly, choose appropriate actions, and perform technical skills under pressure. The training program is designed to combine soccer skills with game-like cognitive demands, such as recognizing opponents' movement, selecting passing or dribbling options, and responding to changing play situations.
Participants will be randomly assigned to either a soccer-specific cognitive-motor training group or an active control technical training group. Both groups will train three times per week for eight weeks in addition to their usual soccer training. The study will compare changes in soccer decision-making, executive functions, and skill performance from baseline to post-intervention and to a four-week retention test.
- Being tested
- Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice, Conventional Soccer Practice
- Keywords
- cognitive promotion, dribbling, soccer
- Medical subject headings
- Sialorrhea
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Cognitively Engaging Soccer PracticeBehavioural
This intervention integrates cognitive elements into basic soccer skill practice. Participants engage in 20-minute soccer dribbling sessions that include decision-making tasks, attention control, and working memory challenges embedded within motor actions. For example, players must react to color or number cues while performing dribbling drills. The purpose is to enhance both motor learning and cognitive performance through dual-task engagement.Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice
Conventional Soccer PracticeBehavioural
This intervention consists of traditional soccer dribbling training without added cognitive tasks. Participants perform the same duration and frequency of soccer skill practice (20 minutes) focusing purely on motor performance and technique refinement. No external cognitive demands are introduced.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitively Engaging Soccer Training | Experimental | Participants assigned to the experimental arm will receive soccer-specific cognitive-motor training in addition to their usual soccer training. The program will last 8 weeks, with 3 sessions per week and approximately 45 minutes per session. Each session will combine soccer technical practice with game-like cognitive demands, including scanning before receiving the ball, recognizing opponent pressure, identifying target players, selecting between passing, dribbling, or shooting options, responding to transition cues, and performing under time or opponent pressure. Training tasks will progress from constrained perception-action drills to conditioned small-sided games. The intervention is designed to improve executive functions, decision-making, and soccer skill performance under representative match-like conditions. Receives: Behavioral: Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice |
| Conventional Soccer Training | Active comparator | Participants assigned to the control arm will receive active technical training in addition to their usual soccer training. The program will last 8 weeks, with 3 sessions per week and approximately 45 minutes per session. Training will include conventional soccer technical drills, such as passing patterns, dribbling circuits, receiving and turning exercises, ball-control activities, and finishing practice. The control sessions will be matched with the experimental arm for training duration, session frequency, general soccer content, and approximate physical workload. However, they will not systematically include game-like cognitive-motor constraints such as opponent-pressure recognition, target-player identification, decision-switching cues, or structured pass/dribble/shoot choice demands. Receives: Behavioral: Conventional Soccer Practice |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Video-Based Soccer Decision Accuracy
Video-based soccer decision accuracy will be used as the primary outcome to assess soccer-specific decision-making performance. Participants will view attacking and transition scenarios from a field-player perspective. Each video will be occluded at a critical decision point, and participants will select the most appropriate action, such as pass, dribble, shoot, switch play, or retain possession. Decision accuracy will be calculated as the percentage of responses that match the expert consensus answer. Higher scores indicate better soccer-specific decision-making performance.
Measured: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Secondary outcomes (3)
Dribbling performance time
Dribbling performance time will be measured as the total time (in seconds) required to complete a standardized cone-dribbling course.
Measured: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Reaction time on cognitive tasks (Stroop task and 2-back task)
Reaction time (in milliseconds) will be recorded for correct responses during computerized Stroop and 2-back tasks. Mean reaction time across trials will be calculated separately for each task at each assessment time point.
Measured: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Response accuracy on cognitive tasks (Stroop task and 2-back task)
Response accuracy will be calculated as the percentage of correct responses during computerized Stroop and 2-back tasks.
Measured: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted16 Dec 2025
- Study start15 Feb 2024
- Primary completion23 May 2024
- Study completion27 Jun 2024
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (2)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Executive Function (Cognition)Studies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Care provider
- Enrolment
- 64 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Fan Mao
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Sponsor-investigator, Fan Mao, Qingdao University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07284940
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- QDU-HEC-2024376
- Status last verified
- Jul 2026
- First submitted
- 20 Nov 2025
- Last updated
- 7 Jul 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No: de-identified data available upon reasonable request
Publications
Alesi M, Bianco A, Padulo J, Luppina G, Petrucci M, Paoli A, Palma A, Pepi A. Motor and cognitive growth following a Football Training Program. Front Psychol. 2015 Oct 27;6:1627. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01627. eCollection 2015.
PubMed 26579014Mao F, Li Z, Qiu C, Fang Q. Developing integrative practice on basic soccer skills to stimulate cognitive promotion for children and adolescents. Front Psychol. 2024 Apr 19;15:1348006. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1348006. eCollection 2024. No abstract available.
PubMed 38708011
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 7 Jul 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Effects of Soccer-Specific Cognitive-Motor Training on Executive Functions, Decision-Making, and Skill Performance in Soccer Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07284940
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- QDU-HEC-2024376
- Keywords
- cognitive promotion, dribbling, soccer
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 64 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Fan MaoUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 15 Feb 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 23 May 2024 (actual)
- Study completion
- 27 Jun 2024 (actual)
- First posted
- 16 Dec 2025 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study will examine whether an 8-week soccer-specific cognitive-motor training program can improve executive functions, decision-making, and soccer skill performance in youth soccer players. Soccer players often need to scan the field, process information quickly, choose appropriate actions, and perform technical skills under pressure. The training program is designed to combine soccer skills with game-like cognitive demands, such as recognizing opponents' movement, selecting passing or dribbling options, and responding to changing play situations.
Participants will be randomly assigned to either a soccer-specific cognitive-motor training group or an active control technical training group. Both groups will train three times per week for eight weeks in addition to their usual soccer training. The study will compare changes in soccer decision-making, executive functions, and skill performance from baseline to post-intervention and to a four-week retention test.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Other
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (care provider)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitively Engaging Soccer Training | Experimental | Behavioral: Cognitively Engaging Soccer PracticeParticipants assigned to the experimental arm will receive soccer-specific cognitive-motor training in addition to their usual soccer training. The program will last 8 weeks, with 3 sessions per week and approximately 45 minutes per session. Each session will combine soccer technical practice with game-like cognitive demands, including scanning before receiving the ball, recognizing opponent pressure, identifying target players, selecting between passing, dribbling, or shooting options, responding to transition cues, and performing under time or opponent pressure. Training tasks will progress from constrained perception-action drills to conditioned small-sided games. The intervention is designed to improve executive functions, decision-making, and soccer skill performance under representative match-like conditions. |
| Conventional Soccer Training | Active comparator | Behavioral: Conventional Soccer PracticeParticipants assigned to the control arm will receive active technical training in addition to their usual soccer training. The program will last 8 weeks, with 3 sessions per week and approximately 45 minutes per session. Training will include conventional soccer technical drills, such as passing patterns, dribbling circuits, receiving and turning exercises, ball-control activities, and finishing practice. The control sessions will be matched with the experimental arm for training duration, session frequency, general soccer content, and approximate physical workload. However, they will not systematically include game-like cognitive-motor constraints such as opponent-pressure recognition, target-player identification, decision-switching cues, or structured pass/dribble/shoot choice demands. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 16 to 18 years
- Sex
- Male only
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Child, Adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Male adolescents aged 16-18 years;
- Healthy students with no recent injury affecting movement or physical activity;
- Normal or corrected-to-normal vision;
- Not taking any medication during the study period;
Key exclusion criteria (3 listed)
- Diagnosed neurological disorders;
- Diagnosed musculoskeletal disorders;
- Use of medications known to affect cognitive function
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Cognitively Engaging Soccer PracticeThis intervention integrates cognitive elements into basic soccer skill practice. Participants engage in 20-minute soccer dribbling sessions that include decision-making tasks, attention control, and working memory challenges embedded within motor actions. For example, players must react to color or number cues while performing dribbling drills. The purpose is to enhance both motor learning and cognitive performance through dual-task engagement.Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice | Behavioural | Cognitively Engaging Soccer Training |
| Conventional Soccer PracticeThis intervention consists of traditional soccer dribbling training without added cognitive tasks. Participants perform the same duration and frequency of soccer skill practice (20 minutes) focusing purely on motor performance and technique refinement. No external cognitive demands are introduced. | Behavioural | Conventional Soccer Training |
Primary outcome
Video-Based Soccer Decision Accuracy
Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Video-based soccer decision accuracy will be used as the primary outcome to assess soccer-specific decision-making performance. Participants will view attacking and transition scenarios from a field-player perspective. Each video will be occluded at a critical decision point, and participants will select the most appropriate action, such as pass, dribble, shoot, switch play, or retain possession. Decision accuracy will be calculated as the percentage of responses that match the expert consensus answer. Higher scores indicate better soccer-specific decision-making performance.
3 secondary outcomes
Dribbling performance time
Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Reaction time on cognitive tasks (Stroop task and 2-back task)
Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Response accuracy on cognitive tasks (Stroop task and 2-back task)
Time frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 7 Jul 2026.
- Results publication: PubMed 26579014Alesi M, Bianco A, Padulo J, Luppina G, Petrucci M, Paoli A, Palma A, Pepi A. Motor and cognitive growth following a Football Training Program. Front Psychol. 2015 Oct 27;6:1627. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01627. eCollection 2015.
- Results publication: PubMed 38708011Mao F, Li Z, Qiu C, Fang Q. Developing integrative practice on basic soccer skills to stimulate cognitive promotion for children and adolescents. Front Psychol. 2024 Apr 19;15:1348006. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1348006. eCollection 2024. No abstract available.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No. de-identified data available upon reasonable request
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
The record lists no contact. Use the official record to reach the sponsor.
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Cognitively Engaging Soccer Practice and Conventional Soccer Practice in people with Executive Function (Cognition) and Soccer Training, run by Fan Mao at 1 site in China.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 3 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 7 Jul 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in China. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Video-Based Soccer Decision Accuracy (time frame: Baseline, immediately after the 8-week intervention, and 4-week retention follow-up.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07284940, which also lists 2 linked publications.
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 7 Jul 2026.