Peak speed determination in football: is sprint testing necessary?

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of 10 Hz global positioning system (GPS) technology to determine peak speed (PS) during both field-testing assessments and tracking during football matches.Materials and Methods: Twenty-three semi-professional football players wore GPS devices during 14 preseason (non-competitive; n = 6) and in-season (competitive; n = 8) fixtures (GPS(Match)), and also during 40-m maximal sprint assessments (GPS(Sprint)) measured concurrently via timing gates at 10-m intervals.Results: A large agreement (r = 0.84; 90% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70-0.92) and trivial bias (-0.30 km . h(-1); 90% CI: -0.61 to 0.01 km . h(-1)) were observed for PS determined via GPS(Sprint) versus timing gates in sprint testing. Absolute PS was faster in matches (31.4 1.5 km . h(-1)) versus timing gate (+0.80; 90% CI: 0.13-1.47 km . h(-1); likely small effect) and GPS(Sprint) (+1.14; 90% CI: 0.47-1.81 km . h(-1); likely moderate effect), irrespective of positional role and stage of the season.Conclusions: These data question the relevance of sprint testing in football and suggest that PS can be determined from GPS tracking data collected over a series of matches.