Magister Artium (Sport, Recreation and Exercise Science) - MA(SRES) / Women’s football is one of the fastest growing sports around the world, however, equity is lacking as women have to negotiate for training equipment, financial sponsorship, media coverage and safe transportation. The study represents an investigation of the lived experiences of female footballers and administrators in the Western Cape: A critical perspective of gender equity. The study further assessed the lack of development and support for women involved in football which displays the inequalities experienced by females within the football arena. The proposed study investigated female footballers’ lived experiences with regard to gender equity in football in the Western Cape. The study used a phenomenological approach which focused specifically on the lived experiences of humans with regards to a particular phenomenon which in this study is gender equity.

Background Football is the most popular sport in Sweden today, however the interest for women’s football is decreasing (Sponsor Insight, 2014, Appendix II). The development of women’s football in Sweden has been remarkable during the last decades. Although, the image and value of women’s football are still perceived to be rather low in today’s modern society if looking at the low attendance figures, low exploitation in the media and difficulties with acquiring sponsorship. Sponsoring is the biggest source of income for almost every women’s football club in Sweden in order for women’s football to develop there has been a shift in the way clubs acquire sponsorship from the commercial aspect to a more CSR related aspect. Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to develop a model on how to increase the commercial value and total sponsoring of women’s football. Method This thesis is based on a qualitative research approach. The secondary data was collected through academic, peer-reviewed articles and the primary data was collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews. The data was later on analyzed through a qualitative analysis. Conclusion Our study shows that CSR can be a contributing factor to increase the commercial value of women’s football. By using other values of women’s football than merely the commercial value, clubs can attract sponsors that want to brand themselves as contributors to society. The authors have developed a model for women’s football clubs on how to increase the commercial value and total sponsoring of women’s football in Sweden. Furthermore, the thesis contributes academically by providing empirical insights in the field of sport sponsorship and sponsorship relationship. The research expands the view on CSR in relation to sport sponsorship. The thesis also focuses on sponsorship within women’s football, which has not been extensively investigated in academia, hence, it contributes with a unique context.

Introduction: Monitoring football players training load is important, lack of recovery and high training load can result in injury or illness.Aim: Describe internal training load, acute chronic workload ratio (ACWR) and wellness of female elite football players. Investigate the relationship between daily training load and wellness.  Method: Seventeen players estimated session ratings of perceived exertion (sRPE) after each football session and muscle soreness, sleep quality and mental stress before every session during twelve weeks of pre-season training. Internal training load and ACWR were calculat- ed using sRPE multiplied by training minutes.  Results: Weekly training load for outfield players was 1697,22±632,07AU, for goalkeepers 1570,69±580,50AU. Outfield players total wellness score was 23,58±2,62, goalkeepers score was 21,2±3,35. ACWR was between 0,31-1,30 for outfield players, 0,36-1,35 for goalkeep- ers. Week correlations were seen between internal training load and muscle soreness (r=- 0,24, p<0,001) and mental stress (r=-0,18, p<0,001) in outfield players.  Conclusion: The study describes internal training load, ACWR and wellness of a female elite football team. Large variations were seen weekly training load, which could be an increased risk of injury. ACWR can be a guide when planning training load. Internal training load doesn't seem to have a big impact on the players wellbeing. / Bakgrund: Monitorering av fotbollsspelares träningsbelastning har en betydande roll då bris- tande återhämtning och hög träningsbelastning kan resultera i skada, sjukdom eller överträ- ningssyndrom.Syfte: Kartlägga intern träningsbelastning, acute chronic workload ratio (ACWR) och well- ness hos kvinnliga elitfotbollsspelare. Undersöka samband mellan daglig träningsbelastning och wellness.  Metod: Sjutton spelare från ett lag skattade ratings of percived exertion efter varje tränings- pass (sRPE) samt sleep quality, mental stress och muscle soreness inför varje träning under tolv veckors försäsongsträning. Intern träningsbelastning och ACWR beräknades genom att multiplicera sRPE med träningstid. Data analyserades separat för fjorton utespelare och tre målvakter.  Resultat: Veckovis träningsbelastning 1697,22 (±632,07)AU för utespelare, 1570,69 (±580,50)AU för målvakter. Total wellness score var 23,58±2,62 för utespelare, 21,2±3,35 för målvakter. ACWR låg mellan 0,31-1,30 för utespelare och 0,36-1,35 för målvakter. Svaga samband sågs mellan intern träningsbelastning och muscle soreness (r=-0,24, p<0,001) samt mental stress hos utespelarna (r=-0,18, p<0,001). Inga signifikanta samband sågs vid bräk- ningar av målvakternas data.  Slutsats: Studien beskriver intern träningsbelastning, ACWR och wellness hos ett kvinnligt elitfotbollslag. Stora variationer sågs i träningsbelastning mellan veckorna vilket kan utgöra ökad risk för skada. ACWR kan vara till stöd i planering av träning och återhämtning. Intern träningsbelastning verkar inte ha någon större påverkan på spelarnas välmående.

The present PhD thesis is compilation of various investigations for the development of a physiological profile in women’s soccer. After an extensive literature review, several literature gaps in this area were identified including: physiological demands of a women’s soccer match including simultaneous measurements with portable metabolic equipment and GPS technology; physical performance analysis of women’s soccer competitive matches of different competition levels using GPS technology; and fitness testing and fitness profiles of female soccer players of different competitive levels by means of laboratory and field tests. The investigations that are part of this thesis targeted these gaps and provided for the first time novel and objective findings in these subjects. The popularity of women’s soccer as well as the number of female soccer players worldwide has increased exponentially in the last 30 years. Furthermore, there are now multiple women’s soccer international competitions and professional leagues around the globe and they will continue to increase in the next few years. Therefore, there is currently high demand for scientific research specific to the women’s game in these topics which may aid coaches, physical trainers, and other practitioners to develop more effective fitness assessments and training programs for their female players in order to improve their fitness status and overall match performance according to their competitive level and positional role.:DEDICATION iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv BIBLIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION vi ABSTRACT vii LIST OF PUBLICATIONS viii TABLE OF CONTENTS ix LIST OF TABLES xi LIST OF FIGURES xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xiii 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1. WOMEN’S SOCCER BACKGROUND 1 1.2. PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FEMALE SOCCER PLAYERS 3 1.3. PHYSICAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL DEMANDS OF WOMEN’S SOCCER 4 2 DISSERTATION AIMS 6 3 STATE OF THE ART 8 3.1. PORTABLE METABOLIC, HEART RATE AND BLOOD LACTATE MEASUREMENTS 8 3.2. GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) MEASUREMENTS 9 3.3. TEST PROTOCOLS 10 3.3.1. ANTHROPOMETRY ASSESSMENT 10 3.3.2. AEROBIC CAPACITY TESTS 11 3.3.3. SPEED, ANAEROBIC ABILITY AND EXPLOSIVE POWER TESTS 15 4 OWN AREAS OF RESEARCH 18 4.1. PHYSIOLOGICAL DEMANDS OF A WOMEN’S FOOTBALL MATCH (ENGLISH SUMMARY FROM “PHYSIOLOGISCHE BEANSPRUCHUNG EINES FRAUENFUẞBALLSPIELS)” – (P-I) 18 4.2. GPS PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF WOMEN’S SOCCER COMPETITIVE MATCHES OF THE SECOND AND FOURTH GERMAN LEAGUES – (P-IV) 21 4.3. VALIDITY OF THE YO-YO INTERMITTENT RECOVERY TEST LEVEL 1 FOR DIRECT MEASUREMENT OR INDIRECT ESTIMATION OF MAXIMAL OXYGEN UPTAKE AMONG FEMALE SOCCER PLAYERS – (P-II) 25 4.4. FITNESS PROFILES OF GERMAN FEMALE SOCCER PLAYERS (UNPUBLISHED RESULTS) 26 5 CONCLUSIONS AND OUTLOOK 31 5.1. MAIN FINDINGS 31 5.2. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS 33 5.3. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS 33 5.4. FUTURE DIRECTIONS 34 6 REFERENCES 36 EIGENSTÄNDIGKEITSERKLÄRUNG 39 AUTHOR’S RESUME 40 ORIGINAL PUBLICATIONS 42 PUBLICATION 1 (P-I) 43 PUBLICATION 2 (P-II) 50 PUBLICATION 3 (P-III) 58 PUBLICATION 4 (P-IV) 74