INFLUENCE OF CAFFEINE ADMINISTRATION ON THE ENDURANCE PERFORMANCE OF UNIVERSITY FOOTBALL PLAYERS

Abstract

The stimulating properties of caffeine can alleviate feelings of tiredness and drowsiness and even enhance sports performance. A study was conducted in South Punjab, Pakistan, with male university football players aged 18 to 25 years. The study was a randomized, placebo-controlled single-blind parallel-group trial with a total of 120 participants divided into four groups of 30 each. Each group was given a different dose of caffeine in capsule form: Group A received 3 mg-kg^-1, Group B received 6 mg-kg^-1, Group C received 9 mg-kg^-1 and Group D was given a placebo 0 mg-kg^-1. Endurance performance was measured before and after caffeine administration and statistical analyses such as paired sample ‘‘t’’-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation were performed on the data using GraphPad Prism version 6.0 software. The results showed that all three groups that received caffeine in doses of 3, 6, and 9 mg/kg^-1 experienced significant improvements in their endurance performance. The study concluded that high doses of caffeine (9 mg/kg^-1) had the most noticeable effects on the endurance performance of university football players.