In football, each playing position is required to perform position specific technical actions as part of their role within the team. Whilst the position specific technical actions of senior players in the 11vs11 format have been researched previously, no research has investigated the position specific actions within youth football, and in particular the different small-sided game (SSG) formats utilised. This study aimed to investigate the technical actions of different playing positions in two SSG formats in each of the Under-9 and Under-11 age groups at a Category One Football Academy. Participants were video recorded playing forty minutes in each format commonly played in their age group, with nineteen technical actions observed and analysed. Eight significant differences were found between positions within the 5vs5 format for Under-9s, and seventeen in the 7vs7 format. Twenty-two significant differences were found between positions in the 7vs7 format for Under-11s, and forty-one in the 9vs9 format. The findings of this study suggest that SSG formats with decreased player numbers should be maintained for longer within the foundation phase of youth football, due to the skill acquisition and development opportunities children may miss out on through the more position/role specific nature of larger formats.
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