Identifying Factors Perceived to Influence the Talent Identification in Iranian Futsal Players

Objectives: To identify possible key factors that help in predicting success over time in futsal, the purpose of this study was to identify the factors affecting the talent identification process in Iranian futsal players. Methods: 74 subjects including 6 national team coaches, 54 junior coaches of Tehran premier league, 14 university professors participated the study. Data was collected in a standardized form as self-administered questionnaire. Friedman’s Test was used to analyze the data. Results: It was found that there was a significant difference between effective factors of talent identification in Iranian futsal players. Psychological factors, physical fitness and skill levels were of utmost importance in identifying the talents in futsal. In addition, it was shown that, anthropometric traits, skill levels, physical and motor fitness, social-psychological factors had a significant different priorities in the process of talent identification. The most important factors were respectively: fat percent (of 5 selected anthropometric indices), dribbling skills (of 7 selected skill-based indices), muscular endurance (of 8 selected physical fitness indices), fair play (of 5 selected sociological indices), and anxiety control (of 10 selected psychological indices). Conclusions: Given the nature and requirements of the games, futsal players need the specific characteristics of psychological factors, physical fitness and skill levels which predominantly improve their overall play to achieve peak performance leading to success in various competitions.