Longitudinal development of physical, perceptual-cognitive and skill predictors of talent in academy and professional female football players.

Existing literature on talent development predominantly focuses on male athletes, with limited representation of female athletes. This study aims to address this gap by examining the long-term development of female football players in an elite club. Routine lab-based assessments were conducted on 238 athletes across six teams for 7 years to determine how physical, perceptual-cognitive, and skill performance predictors fluctuated with player age and developmental stage (sampling 9-11y, specializing 12-14y, investment 15-18y, and performance +18y). The developmental stage was a significant predictor of improved performance for each talent indicator (