The science of Gaelic football match-play and recommendations for future research directions: a narrative review

In recent years, research in Gaelic football has increased. However, the relationship between training demands and match-play demands is not fully understood and requires further investigation. Due to the stochastic nature of the sport, distances covered in match-play have a positional profile and a reduction in match-play running performance has been observed. The physiological demands of match-play at each level remain underexplored. Likewise, performance analysis is a growing area in Gaelic football, with performance indicators, such as possession, productivity, shot efficiency, and kickouts, providing valuable insights to players and coaches during and post-game. This review synthesises current literature on physical and technical match-play demands of elite and sub-elite Gaelic football to inform training practices and highlight areas for future research.