Air Pollutants Reduce the Physical Activity of Professional Soccer Players

The aim of the study was to determine the impact of air quality-analyzed on the basis of the model of integrating three types of air pollutants (ozone, O; particulate matter, PM; nitrogen dioxide, NO)-on the physical activity of soccer players. Study material consisted of 8927 individual match observations of 461 players competing in the German Bundesliga during the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 domestic seasons. The measured indices included players' physical activities: total distance (TD) and high-intensity effort (HIE). Statistical analysis showed that with increasing levels of air pollution, both TD (F = 13.900(3); = 0.001) and HIE (F = 8.060(3); = 0.001) decrease significantly. The worsening of just one parameter of air pollution results in a significant reduction in performance. This is important information as air pollution is currently a considerable problem for many countries. Improving air quality during training sessions and sports competitions will result in better well-being and sporting performance of athletes and will also help protect athletes from negative health effects caused by air pollution.