Comparison of External Load Demands Across Three Competitive Tiers in Spanish Football: A Three-Season Single-Club Study

Abstract Vicens-Bordas, J, Colomar, J, Altarriba-Bartés, A, Yeto-Jiménez, A, Jiménez, A, Carrera-Prat, J, García, F, Peña, J, and Beato, M. Comparison of external load demands across three competitive tiers in Spanish football: A three-season single-club study. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2026—The purpose of this study was to compare the match external load demands experienced by a football team competing for 3 consecutive seasons across various competitive tiers (fourth, third, and second) of Spanish football. Independent variables included player position, match location, and match outcome. A total of 747 individual official match observations from 47 male players were recorded using 10-Hz global positioning system devices. External load metrics (relative to minutes played) included total distance, high-speed running (HSR > 21 km·hour −1 ), sprint distance (>24 km·hour −1 ), high metabolic load distance (HMLD > 25.5 W·kg −1 ), accelerations (>3 m·second −2 ), and decelerations (<−3 m·second −2 ). Linear mixed models (significance level set at p < 0.05) assessed the effects of competitive level, position, location, and result, including interaction effects. Cohen's d was also calculated with 95% confidence interval. Results showed that HSR and HMLD differed across competitive levels, with professional (second tier) matches requiring higher HSR demands ( medium effects), and fourth tier greater HMLD demands than third tier ( small effect). Positional differences were present in all metrics except accelerations, with wide roles (wingers and wide backs) being exposed to greater demands than central positions ( medium to large effects). Match location had limited influence, though total distance was slightly higher at home matches ( small effect). Winning was consistently associated with higher physical demands, particularly in the second tier, where players covered more distance at high intensities (HSR and sprinting) than when drawing or losing ( small to medium effects). Interaction effects indicated that competition level modulated the influence of player position, match location, and result on physical demands. These findings suggest that professional football imposes higher physical demands (although not for all parameters, e.g., accelerations) than semiprofessional football. Coaches and practitioners should consider competition level and contextual factors when designing training and recovery strategies, particularly for wide-position players and during high-stakes matches.