EFFECTS OF GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL PROGRAMS ON PHYSICAL FITNESS IN YOUNG SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
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Sep 1, 2026
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Stefan Stojanović
Ana Lilić
Stefan Mijalković
Ismail Ilbak
Miljan Hadžović
Žaklina Filipović
Tamara Ilić
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2819-9545
https://orcid.org/0009-0009-2819-9545
Abstract
Grassroots football programmes represent accessible football-based interventions that may support physical fitness development in young school-aged children through structured, enjoyable and game-based physical activity. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the available evidence on the effects of grassroots football programmes on physical fitness in young school-aged children. Following PRISMA guidelines, relevant studies published up to April 2026 were searched in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar, with supplementary searches conducted through additional sources. Of the 512 records initially identified, 11 studies met the eligibility criteria and were included in the final synthesis (N=11). The 11 included studies comprised a total sample of 3,674 children, with six studies examining the “11 for Health” programme and five studies examining recreational football interventions. The most consistent findings were observed for cardiorespiratory fitness, with improvements in VO2max reported in most studies that assessed this outcome, while blood pressure changes were generally favorable but less uniform. Motor abilities also improved in several studies, particularly balance, explosive power, sprint performance and agility. Body composition findings were generally favorable, especially for body fat percentage and fat-free mass, although changes in BMI and body mass were less consistent. Overall, the findings suggest that grassroots football programmes may represent a practical and promising strategy for improving physical fitness in young school-aged children.
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Keywords
grassroots football, young school kids, body composition, motor abilities, cardiorespiratory fitness
References
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3. Bangsbo, J., Mohr, M., & Krustrup, P. (2006). Physical and metabolic demands of training and match-play in the elite football player. Journal of Sports Sciences, 24(7), 665–674.
4. Bompa, T. O., & Carrera, M. (2015). Conditioning young athletes. Human Kinetics.
5. Bull, F. C., Al-Ansari, S. S., Biddle, S., Borodulin, K., Buman, M. P., Cardon, G., Carty, C., Chaput, J. P., Chastin, S., Chou, R., Dempsey, P. C., DiPietro, L., Ekelund, U., Firth, J., Friedenreich, C. M., Garcia, L., Gichu, M., Jago, R., Katzmarzyk, P. T., ... Willumsen, J. F. (2020). World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(24), 1451–1462.
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8. Clemente, F. M., Moran, J., Ramirez-Campillo, R., Oliveira, R., Brito, J., Silva, A. F., Badicu, G., Praça, G., & Sarmento, H. (2022). Recreational soccer training effects on pediatric populations’ physical fitness and health: A systematic review. Children, 9(11), 1776.
9. Cvetković, N., Stojanović, E., Stojiljković, N., Nikolić, D., & Milanović, Z. (2018a). Effects of a 12-week recreational football and high-intensity interval training on physical fitness in overweight children. Facta Universitatis, Series: Physical Education and Sport, 16(2), 435–450.
10. Cvetković, N., Stojanović, E., Stojiljković, N., Nikolić, D., Scanlan, A. T., & Milanović, Z. (2018b). Exercise training in overweight and obese children: Recreational football and high-intensity interval training provide similar benefits to physical fitness. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 28(1), 18–32.
11. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. (2011). FIFA Big Count. FIFA Communications Division.
12. Fuller, C. W., Junge, A., DeCelles, J., Donald, J., Jankelowitz, R., & Dvorak, J. (2010). “Football for Health”, a football-based health-promotion programme for children in South Africa: A parallel cohort study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(8), 546–554.
13. Fuller, C. W., Junge, A., Dorasami, C., DeCelles, J., & Dvorak, J. (2011). “11 for Health”, a football-based health education programme for children: A two-cohort study in Mauritius and Zimbabwe. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(8), 612–618.
14. García-Hermoso, A., Alonso-Martínez, A. M., Ramírez-Vélez, R., Pérez-Sousa, M. A., Ramírez-Campillo, R., & Izquierdo, M. (2020). Association of physical education with improvement of health-related physical fitness outcomes and fundamental motor skills among youths: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(6), e200223.
15. García-Hermoso, A., Ramírez-Vélez, R., García-Alonso, Y., Alonso-Martínez, A. M., & Izquierdo, M. (2020). Association of cardiorespiratory fitness levels during youth with health risk later in life: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(10), 952–960.
16. Krustrup, P., Dvorak, J., & Bangsbo, J. (2016). Small-sided football in schools and leisure-time sport clubs improves physical fitness, health profile, well-being and learning in children. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(19), 1166–1167.
17. Krustrup, P., Hansen, P. R., Nielsen, C. M., Larsen, M. N., Randers, M. B., Manniche, V., Hansen, L., Dvorak, J., & Bangsbo, J. (2014). Structural and functional cardiac adaptations to a 10-week school-based football intervention for 9–10-year-old children. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(1), 4–9.
18. Larsen, M. N., Madsen, M., Nielsen, C. M., Manniche, V., Hansen, L., Bangsbo, J., Krustrup, P., & Hansen, P. R. (2020). Cardiovascular adaptations after 10 months of daily 12-min bouts of intense school-based physical training for 8–10-year-old children. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 63(6), 813–817.
19. Larsen, M. N., Terracciano, A., Møller, T. K., Aggestrup, C. S., Buono, P., Krustrup, P., & Castagna, C. (2023). An 11-week school-based “health education through football” programme improves musculoskeletal variables in 10- to 12-year-old Danish school children. Bone Reports, 18, 101681.
20. Li, Z., Krustrup, P., Randers, M. B., Xu, B., Yang, W., Huang, Z., & Mao, L. (2023). “11 for Health” in China: Effects on physical fitness in 9- to 11-year-old schoolchildren. European Journal of Sport Science, 23(12), 2291–2298.
21. Lind, R. R., Geertsen, S. S., Ørntoft, C., Madsen, M., Larsen, M. N., Dvorak, J., Ritz, C., & Krustrup, P. (2018). Improved cognitive performance in preadolescent Danish children after the school-based physical activity programme “FIFA 11 for Health” for Europe: A cluster-randomised controlled trial. European Journal of Sport Science, 18(1), 130–139.
22. Mao, X., Zhang, J., Li, Y., Cao, Y., Ding, M., Li, W., & Fan, L. (2022). The effects of football practice on children’s fundamental movement skills: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 10, 1019150.
23. Martin-Smith, R., Cox, A., Buchan, D. S., Baker, J. S., Grace, F., & Sculthorpe, N. (2020). High intensity interval training (HIIT) improves cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in healthy, overweight and obese adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(8), 2955.
24. Meng, C., Tang, Y., Li, S., & Zou, Y. (2022). Effects of school-based high-intensity interval training on body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic markers in adolescent boys with obesity: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Pediatrics, 22, 112.
25. Milanović, Z., Pantelić, S., Čović, N., Sporiš, G., Mohr, M., & Krustrup, P. (2019). Broad-spectrum physical fitness benefits of recreational football: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(15), 926–939.
26. North, J., Lara-Bercial, S., & Morgan, G. (2014). The identification of good practice principles to inform player development and coaching in European youth football. UEFA; Leeds Metropolitan University.
27. Nuttall, F. Q. (2015). Body mass index: Obesity, BMI, and health: A critical review. Nutrition Today, 50(3), 117–128.
28. Ørntoft, C., Fuller, C. W., Larsen, M. N., Bangsbo, J., Dvorak, J., & Krustrup, P. (2016). “FIFA 11 for Health” for Europe. II: Effect on health markers and physical fitness in Danish schoolchildren aged 10–12 years. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(22), 1394–1399.
29. Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., ... Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71.
30. Ratamess, N. A. (2012). Body composition. In T. Miller (Ed.), NSCA’s guide to tests and assessments (pp. 15–41). Human Kinetics.
31. Ryom, K., Christiansen, S. R., Elbe, A. M., Aggestrup, C. S., Madsen, E. E., Madsen, M., Larsen, M. N., & Krustrup, P. (2022). The Danish “11 for Health” program raises health knowledge, well-being, and fitness in ethnic minority 10- to 12-year-olds. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 32(1), 138–151.
32. Seifert, L., Button, C., & Davids, K. (2013). Key properties of expert movement systems in sport: An ecological dynamics perspective. Sports Medicine, 43(3), 167–178.
33. Skoradal, M. B., Purkhús, E., Steinholm, H., Olsen, M. H., Ørntoft, C., Larsen, M. N., Dvorak, J., Mohr, M., & Krustrup, P. (2018). “FIFA 11 for Health” for Europe in the Faroe Islands: Effects on health markers and physical fitness in 10- to 12-year-old schoolchildren. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 28(Suppl. 1), 8–17.
34. van Sluijs, E. M. F., Ekelund, U., Crochemore-Silva, I., Guthold, R., Ha, A., Lubans, D., Oyeyemi, A. L., Ding, D., & Katzmarzyk, P. T. (2021). Physical activity behaviours in adolescence: Current evidence and opportunities for intervention. The Lancet, 398(10298), 429–442.
35. Vanhees, L., Lefevre, J., Philippaerts, R., Martens, M., Huygens, W., Troosters, T., & Beunen, G. (2005). How to assess physical activity? How to assess physical fitness? European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation, 12(2), 102–114.
36. Wang, J., Cao, L., Xie, P., & Wang, J. (2018). Recreational football training improved health-related physical fitness in 9- to 10-year-old boys. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58(3), 326–331.
2. Bangsbo, J., Krustrup, P., Duda, J., Hillman, C., Andersen, L. B., Weiss, M., Williams, C. A., Lintunen, T., Green, K., Hansen, P. R., Naylor, P. J., Ericsson, I., Nielsen, G., Froberg, K., Bugge, A., Lundbye-Jensen, J., Schipperijn, J., Dagkas, S., Agergaard, S., ... Elbe, A. M. (2016). The Copenhagen Consensus Conference 2016: Children, youth, and physical activity in schools and during leisure time. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(19), 1177–1178.
3. Bangsbo, J., Mohr, M., & Krustrup, P. (2006). Physical and metabolic demands of training and match-play in the elite football player. Journal of Sports Sciences, 24(7), 665–674.
4. Bompa, T. O., & Carrera, M. (2015). Conditioning young athletes. Human Kinetics.
5. Bull, F. C., Al-Ansari, S. S., Biddle, S., Borodulin, K., Buman, M. P., Cardon, G., Carty, C., Chaput, J. P., Chastin, S., Chou, R., Dempsey, P. C., DiPietro, L., Ekelund, U., Firth, J., Friedenreich, C. M., Garcia, L., Gichu, M., Jago, R., Katzmarzyk, P. T., ... Willumsen, J. F. (2020). World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 54(24), 1451–1462.
6. Caspersen, C. J., Powell, K. E., & Christenson, G. M. (1985). Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: Definitions and distinctions for health-related research. Public Health Reports, 100(2), 126–131.
7. Chaput, J. P., Willumsen, J., Bull, F., Chou, R., Ekelund, U., Firth, J., Jago, R., Ortega, F. B., & Katzmarzyk, P. T. (2020). 2020 WHO guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour for children and adolescents aged 5–17 years: Summary of the evidence. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 17, 141.
8. Clemente, F. M., Moran, J., Ramirez-Campillo, R., Oliveira, R., Brito, J., Silva, A. F., Badicu, G., Praça, G., & Sarmento, H. (2022). Recreational soccer training effects on pediatric populations’ physical fitness and health: A systematic review. Children, 9(11), 1776.
9. Cvetković, N., Stojanović, E., Stojiljković, N., Nikolić, D., & Milanović, Z. (2018a). Effects of a 12-week recreational football and high-intensity interval training on physical fitness in overweight children. Facta Universitatis, Series: Physical Education and Sport, 16(2), 435–450.
10. Cvetković, N., Stojanović, E., Stojiljković, N., Nikolić, D., Scanlan, A. T., & Milanović, Z. (2018b). Exercise training in overweight and obese children: Recreational football and high-intensity interval training provide similar benefits to physical fitness. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 28(1), 18–32.
11. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. (2011). FIFA Big Count. FIFA Communications Division.
12. Fuller, C. W., Junge, A., DeCelles, J., Donald, J., Jankelowitz, R., & Dvorak, J. (2010). “Football for Health”, a football-based health-promotion programme for children in South Africa: A parallel cohort study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 44(8), 546–554.
13. Fuller, C. W., Junge, A., Dorasami, C., DeCelles, J., & Dvorak, J. (2011). “11 for Health”, a football-based health education programme for children: A two-cohort study in Mauritius and Zimbabwe. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(8), 612–618.
14. García-Hermoso, A., Alonso-Martínez, A. M., Ramírez-Vélez, R., Pérez-Sousa, M. A., Ramírez-Campillo, R., & Izquierdo, M. (2020). Association of physical education with improvement of health-related physical fitness outcomes and fundamental motor skills among youths: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(6), e200223.
15. García-Hermoso, A., Ramírez-Vélez, R., García-Alonso, Y., Alonso-Martínez, A. M., & Izquierdo, M. (2020). Association of cardiorespiratory fitness levels during youth with health risk later in life: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 174(10), 952–960.
16. Krustrup, P., Dvorak, J., & Bangsbo, J. (2016). Small-sided football in schools and leisure-time sport clubs improves physical fitness, health profile, well-being and learning in children. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(19), 1166–1167.
17. Krustrup, P., Hansen, P. R., Nielsen, C. M., Larsen, M. N., Randers, M. B., Manniche, V., Hansen, L., Dvorak, J., & Bangsbo, J. (2014). Structural and functional cardiac adaptations to a 10-week school-based football intervention for 9–10-year-old children. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 24(1), 4–9.
18. Larsen, M. N., Madsen, M., Nielsen, C. M., Manniche, V., Hansen, L., Bangsbo, J., Krustrup, P., & Hansen, P. R. (2020). Cardiovascular adaptations after 10 months of daily 12-min bouts of intense school-based physical training for 8–10-year-old children. Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases, 63(6), 813–817.
19. Larsen, M. N., Terracciano, A., Møller, T. K., Aggestrup, C. S., Buono, P., Krustrup, P., & Castagna, C. (2023). An 11-week school-based “health education through football” programme improves musculoskeletal variables in 10- to 12-year-old Danish school children. Bone Reports, 18, 101681.
20. Li, Z., Krustrup, P., Randers, M. B., Xu, B., Yang, W., Huang, Z., & Mao, L. (2023). “11 for Health” in China: Effects on physical fitness in 9- to 11-year-old schoolchildren. European Journal of Sport Science, 23(12), 2291–2298.
21. Lind, R. R., Geertsen, S. S., Ørntoft, C., Madsen, M., Larsen, M. N., Dvorak, J., Ritz, C., & Krustrup, P. (2018). Improved cognitive performance in preadolescent Danish children after the school-based physical activity programme “FIFA 11 for Health” for Europe: A cluster-randomised controlled trial. European Journal of Sport Science, 18(1), 130–139.
22. Mao, X., Zhang, J., Li, Y., Cao, Y., Ding, M., Li, W., & Fan, L. (2022). The effects of football practice on children’s fundamental movement skills: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 10, 1019150.
23. Martin-Smith, R., Cox, A., Buchan, D. S., Baker, J. S., Grace, F., & Sculthorpe, N. (2020). High intensity interval training (HIIT) improves cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) in healthy, overweight and obese adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled studies. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(8), 2955.
24. Meng, C., Tang, Y., Li, S., & Zou, Y. (2022). Effects of school-based high-intensity interval training on body composition, cardiorespiratory fitness and cardiometabolic markers in adolescent boys with obesity: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Pediatrics, 22, 112.
25. Milanović, Z., Pantelić, S., Čović, N., Sporiš, G., Mohr, M., & Krustrup, P. (2019). Broad-spectrum physical fitness benefits of recreational football: A systematic review and meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 53(15), 926–939.
26. North, J., Lara-Bercial, S., & Morgan, G. (2014). The identification of good practice principles to inform player development and coaching in European youth football. UEFA; Leeds Metropolitan University.
27. Nuttall, F. Q. (2015). Body mass index: Obesity, BMI, and health: A critical review. Nutrition Today, 50(3), 117–128.
28. Ørntoft, C., Fuller, C. W., Larsen, M. N., Bangsbo, J., Dvorak, J., & Krustrup, P. (2016). “FIFA 11 for Health” for Europe. II: Effect on health markers and physical fitness in Danish schoolchildren aged 10–12 years. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 50(22), 1394–1399.
29. Page, M. J., McKenzie, J. E., Bossuyt, P. M., Boutron, I., Hoffmann, T. C., Mulrow, C. D., Shamseer, L., Tetzlaff, J. M., Akl, E. A., Brennan, S. E., Chou, R., Glanville, J., Grimshaw, J. M., Hróbjartsson, A., Lalu, M. M., Li, T., Loder, E. W., Mayo-Wilson, E., McDonald, S., ... Moher, D. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. BMJ, 372, n71.
30. Ratamess, N. A. (2012). Body composition. In T. Miller (Ed.), NSCA’s guide to tests and assessments (pp. 15–41). Human Kinetics.
31. Ryom, K., Christiansen, S. R., Elbe, A. M., Aggestrup, C. S., Madsen, E. E., Madsen, M., Larsen, M. N., & Krustrup, P. (2022). The Danish “11 for Health” program raises health knowledge, well-being, and fitness in ethnic minority 10- to 12-year-olds. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 32(1), 138–151.
32. Seifert, L., Button, C., & Davids, K. (2013). Key properties of expert movement systems in sport: An ecological dynamics perspective. Sports Medicine, 43(3), 167–178.
33. Skoradal, M. B., Purkhús, E., Steinholm, H., Olsen, M. H., Ørntoft, C., Larsen, M. N., Dvorak, J., Mohr, M., & Krustrup, P. (2018). “FIFA 11 for Health” for Europe in the Faroe Islands: Effects on health markers and physical fitness in 10- to 12-year-old schoolchildren. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports, 28(Suppl. 1), 8–17.
34. van Sluijs, E. M. F., Ekelund, U., Crochemore-Silva, I., Guthold, R., Ha, A., Lubans, D., Oyeyemi, A. L., Ding, D., & Katzmarzyk, P. T. (2021). Physical activity behaviours in adolescence: Current evidence and opportunities for intervention. The Lancet, 398(10298), 429–442.
35. Vanhees, L., Lefevre, J., Philippaerts, R., Martens, M., Huygens, W., Troosters, T., & Beunen, G. (2005). How to assess physical activity? How to assess physical fitness? European Journal of Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation, 12(2), 102–114.
36. Wang, J., Cao, L., Xie, P., & Wang, J. (2018). Recreational football training improved health-related physical fitness in 9- to 10-year-old boys. Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness, 58(3), 326–331.
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Stojanović, S., Lilić, A., Mijalković, S., Ilbak, I., Hadžović, M., Filipović, Žaklina, & Ilić, T. (2026). EFFECTS OF GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL PROGRAMS ON PHYSICAL FITNESS IN YOUNG SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. Physical Education and Sport Through The Centuries, 13(2), 5–18. Retrieved from https://phedss.fsfv-pr.rs/index.php/phedss/article/view/86
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