Effects of Caffeine on Agility in Amateur Soccer Players

NCT07844122 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: 15/2024
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 16
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover clinical trial aims to investigate the acute effects of caffeine supplementation on motor and perceptual-cognitive components of agility performance in male amateur soccer players. The main questions are: i) Does acute caffeine supplementation improve motor performance, including countermovement jump height, drop-jump reactive strength, and planned agility? ii) Does acute caffeine supplementation improve perceptual-cognitive performance during reactive agility tasks involving light and human stimuli? Participants will complete two experimental conditions in randomized order, receiving either 300 mg of caffeine (\~3.7 miligrams/kilograms of body mass) or placebo pills. Following ingestion, participants will perform countermovement and drop jumps and three Y-shaped agility tests assessing planned agility, reactive agility to a light stimulus, and reactive agility to a human stimulus.

Conditions

Healthy Adult Male

Keywords

Caffeine; Athletes; Exercise; Muscle Strength; Psychomotor Performance

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Planned Agility

  The running course was divided into two sections. The first section consisted of a 5 meter linear sprint from a two-point starting position. At the end of the linear section, two cones positioned 1-meter apart marked the change-of-direction area. The participant was instructed by the tester to change the direction of sprinting by cutting at a 45° angle to either the left or right side. The primary outcome measure was the fastest trial completion time, recorded in seconds using a photocell timing system. Timing commenced when the participant crossed the starting gate and ended when the participant crossed the designated gate at the end of course.

  40 minutes after caffeine/placebo ingestion

• Reactive Agility

  The running course was divided into two sections. The first section consisted of a 5 meter linear sprint from a two-point starting position. At the end of the linear section, two cones positioned 1-meter apart marked the change-of-direction area. The participant was instructed by the tester to change the direction of sprinting according to the a) light sensor, b) human movement, by cutting at a 45° angle to either the left or right side. 1. Light sensor showed green arrow of dedicated change-of-direction. This stimulus occured 500 milliseconds after crossing the starting gate. 2. Human tester executed movement to the side when participants were 2.5 meters apart from starting gate. Participants were reacting by the execution of change-of-direction to the opposite side as human tester. The outcome was the fastest completion time, recorded in seconds using a photocell timing system.

  45 minutes after caffeine/placebo ingestion

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Countermovement jump

  30 minutes after caffeine/placebo ingestion

• Drop jump 30

  35 minutes after caffeine/placebo ingestion

Study Arms (2)

Caffeine ingestion

EXPERIMENTAL

Supplementation was administered as caffeine capsules (Scitec Nutrition Caffeine, 100 milligrams per capsule). Participants received 300 mg of caffeine, which represented approximately 3.74 milligrams/kilograms of mean body mass. This dosage corresponded to an individual dose ranging from 3.16 to 4.44 milligrams/kilograms of mean of body mass. The capsules were visually identical, and neither the testers nor the participants were aware of the assigned condition. Caffeine was ingested 30 minutes before the testing session.

Dietary Supplement: Caffeine 300 MG

Placebo ingestion

PLACEBO COMPARATOR

Supplementation was administered as a placebo capsules filled with potato starch. The capsules were visually identical, and neither the testers nor the participants were aware of the assigned condition. Placebo pills were ingested 30 minutes before the testing session.

Dietary Supplement: Placebo

Interventions

Caffeine 300 MG DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Supplementation was administered as caffeine capsules (Scitec Nutrition Caffeine, 100 milligrams per capsule). Subjects received 300 milligrams of caffeine, which represented an individual dose ranging from 3.16 to 4.44 milligrams/kilograms of body mass.

Also known as: caffeine pills

Caffeine ingestion

Placebo DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

Supplementation was administered as placebo capsules filled with potato starch. The capsules were visually identical, and neither the testers nor the participants were aware of the assigned condition.

Placebo ingestion

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 35 Years
• Gender Eligibility Details: Male
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Active male amateur soccer players competing in Slovakian 3rd to 6th tier-league and Austrian 4th to 7th tier-league,
• Regular participation in soccer training and competition,
• No current health restrictions preventing participation in maximal physical testing
• Provided written informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• Goalkeepers
• Current or recent musculoskeletal injury affecting physical performance
• Acute illness at the time of testing
• Cardiovascular or neurological disorders
• Visual impairment affecting performance of the experimental tasks
• Significant sleep disorders
• Habitual caffeine consumption exceeding 400 mg/day
• Failure to complete both experimental sessions

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Comenius University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Comenius University in Bratislava, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport

Bratislava, Slovakia, 814 69, Slovakia

Location

Related Publications (5)

• Redondo B, Jimenez R, Molina R, Dalton K, Vera J. Effects of caffeine ingestion on dynamic visual acuity: a placebo-controlled, double-blind, balanced-crossover study in low caffeine consumers. Psychopharmacology (Berl). 2021 Dec;238(12):3391-3398. doi: 10.1007/s00213-021-05953-1. Epub 2021 Aug 22.

  PMID: 34420061 BACKGROUND

• Grgic J. Exploring the minimum ergogenic dose of caffeine on resistance exercise performance: A meta-analytic approach. Nutrition. 2022 May;97:111604. doi: 10.1016/j.nut.2022.111604. Epub 2022 Jan 22.

  PMID: 35203046 BACKGROUND

• Merino Fernandez M, Ruiz-Moreno C, Giraldez-Costas V, Gonzalez-Millan C, Matos-Duarte M, Gutierrez-Hellin J, Gonzalez-Garcia J. Caffeine Doses of 3 mg/kg Increase Unilateral and Bilateral Vertical Jump Outcomes in Elite Traditional Jiu-Jitsu Athletes. Nutrients. 2021 May 18;13(5):1705. doi: 10.3390/nu13051705.

  PMID: 34069892 BACKGROUND

• Ellis M, Noon M, Myers T, Clarke N. Low Doses of Caffeine: Enhancement of Physical Performance in Elite Adolescent Male Soccer Players. Int J Sports Physiol Perform. 2019 May 1;14(5):569-575. doi: 10.1123/ijspp.2018-0536. Epub 2019 Apr 21.

  PMID: 30300047 BACKGROUND

• Stojanovic E, Scanlan AT, Milanovic Z, Fox JL, Stankovic R, Dalbo VJ. Acute caffeine supplementation improves jumping, sprinting, and change-of-direction performance in basketball players when ingested in the morning but not evening. Eur J Sport Sci. 2022 Mar;22(3):360-370. doi: 10.1080/17461391.2021.1874059. Epub 2021 Feb 2.

  PMID: 33413049 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Interventions

Caffeine

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Xanthines; Alkaloids; Heterocyclic Compounds; Purinones; Purines; Heterocyclic Compounds, 2-Ring; Heterocyclic Compounds, Fused-Ring

Study Officials

• Filip Skala, PhD.

  Comenius University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Research Assistant

Model Details: randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study model

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 15, 2026
• First Posted: September 28, 2026
• Study Start: October 21, 2024
• Primary Completion: October 28, 2024
• Study Completion: December 20, 2024
• Last Updated: September 28, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

SL (1)