Characterization of Sports Science Professionals Working in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Australian A-League, and Major League Soccer

Jones, A, Hatfield, D, Peñailillo, L, Kraemer, WJ, Rehbein, CO, Swift, J, and Earp, J. Characterization of sports science professionals working in the Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Australian A-League, and Major League Soccer. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000–000, 2026—Sport science (SS) is an evolving field dedicated to enhancing athlete performance and health through implementation of evidence-based practices and integration with technical coaching and medical staff. Despite numerous advances in this field, SS integration is not standardized across professional soccer. The present study compares functional roles of SS stakeholders working across five international soccer leagues and how educational background varies by role. Stakeholders ( n = 358) from the Premier League (PL), Bundesliga (BL), La Liga (LL), Major Soccer League (MLS), and Australian A-League (AA-L) were identified from club websites and media releases. Stakeholder roles were classified by job title as sports scientist, performance director, data analyst, or performance coach, and comparisons were made between leagues. Level of education and area of study was available for 75% of stakeholders and was compared between positions by role. Overall, PL (5.32 ± 2.98 stakeholders/club) and BL (5.72 ± 2.42 stakeholders/club) employed more ( p < 0.05) stakeholders than LL (2.68 ± 1.67 stakeholders/club), MLS (2.61 ± 1.47 stakeholders/club), and AA-L (2.50 ± 1.00 stakeholders/club). The relative number of stakeholders with each role differed between leagues ( F = 2.74–13.91, p = 0.001–0.034). Notably, PL employed more sports scientists than BL and LL, whereas BL employed more analysts and performance coaches than LL, MLS, and AA-L ( p < 0.05). In addition, sports scientists were more likely to have a sports-science degree (80%) than data analysts (44%) or performance coaches (72%) and on average possessed more advanced degrees ( p = 0.001–0.002). Overall integration of SS differed between soccer leagues in the number of stakeholders employed, their primary job responsibilities, and educational background.