Football and Science

Scientific facts about Football

If someone is a good footballer we say that he has something in his genes. Scientists still don't know what is that thing but they discovered connection between the length of a footballer's ring finger and their ability as a player


By MARIJA MITROVIĆ
from Belgrade, SERBIA


Why football and science? During a last few decades football became a serious business. There's more money in football than ever before. Science today has more impact on football industry then ever before. Using science we can predict if someone will became a good football player, or to improve skills and technique of footballers, or just to use scientific results to promote a good influence on football on our health.

If someone is a good footballer we say that he has something in his genes. Scientists still don't know what is that thing but they discovered connection between the length of a footballer's ring finger and their ability as a player. They measured the difference in length between the ring and index fingers of top players. According to British psychologist Professor John Manning, the length of your ring finger is a surefire way of determining your ability in sports. The length of our fingers is determined by hormones, especially testosterone, in the first trimester of pregnancy and the finger length ratio never changes as we grow to adulthood. Our fingers, then, are a marker for early fetal development, a critical stage in the growth of brain and body.

In studies Manning has found a strong correlation between long ring fingers and sporting ability. The more testosterone you have the better your spatial judgment, an important ability in many sports. A study of athletics and soccer showed that success was associated with long ring fingers. Professional footballers, for example, had longer ring fingers than non-football players; international footballers had longer ring fingers than non-international footballers; and "stars" and coaches had longer ring fingers than current players, particularly those from lower divisions. Because of their greater fetal exposure to testosterone, men with long ring fingers, have more strength and great spatial awareness, which is one of the crucial thing in being successful in football.

Scientists didn't just measure the fingers of footballers they also wanted to know how football influence on health of people that watch the football. Research has shown that watching the World Cup is good for our health - even if your national team do go out on penalties. Scottish researchers have looked at the rate of emergency psychiatric admissions immediately before, during and after three World Cup tournaments. They found that they were seeing more patients than expected in the weeks leading up to the tournament. The rate decreased substantially during the finals and over the following eight weeks. On average, there were 14% fewer admissions in the weeks after the tournament compared to before it had started.

The researchers suggest that the sharing of a common interest and a surge of nationalistic pride provides a huge feel-good factor. The competition makes people less prone to introspection and despair. They are also more likely to tolerate and cope with crises. Watching football can, however, also be frustrating, especially when it comes to the decisions of referees and officials. Take a linesman trying to judge if a player is offside. Unless they are exactly in line with the last defender they will find it extremely difficult to judge whether the striker is in front of the defender or not. Even if the linesman is as little as a meter in front of the defender, their perception is significantly distorted and the attacker will appear further forward than they really are. Many scientists have suggested that offside decisions would be better taken from the stands where there is a much better perspective.

It's not only unfair decisions by referees that can turn the enjoyment of a football match into a painful experience. Watching penalties can be equally nerve-racking. Some goalies are better than others at predicting which way a striker will shoot. Research by UK scientists has suggested that the best clues come from the direction the striker's hips are facing as they approach the ball. Another vital clue is the position of the non-kicking foot.

Doesn't matter if you like to play or watch football, either way it is very good for your health.


(Published: 10.06.2008.)