Match running performance by playing position in elite Colombian women’s professional soccer

119 senior female players in the Colombian Serie A league across 111 matches, during the 2024 season.

Measures benchmarks of running data across different speed thresholds and player position groups in the top-tier of Colombian women’s football.

This study aimed to contextualize and provide benchmarks for match-running performance in Colombian women’s professional soccer across the Serie A League 2024. Physical performance data from 111 matches involving 119 players (758 player-match observations) across Colombian women First Division teams were analysed. Players were classified as central defenders (CD, n = 195), central midfielders (CM, n = 213), full backs (FB, n = 159), external midfielders (WN, n = 109), or forwards (FW, n = 82). GPS-driven metrics were: total distance (TD), relative total distance (TDrel), distance covered in speed zones (Zones 1–5), sprint count (SPR, >23 km·h⁻¹), maximum speed running, high acceleration distance (HAD, >2.5 m·s⁻²), high deceleration distance (HDD, <−2.5 m·s⁻²), and Player Load (PL). A mixed method analysis was implemented to compare player positions. The main results were: CM achieved higher TD2–TD3 values and PL compared to CD, whereas FB, WN, and FW reached the greatest loads at higher intensities (TD4, TD5, SPR, MSR, HAD/HDD). Pairwise comparisons confirmed advantages over CD for TDrel, TD4, TD5, and PL, with CM>FB/WN for TD1–TD3 and FW/WN>CM for TD5, SPR, and MSR. These benchmarks provide context-specific reference values for Colombian women’s professional soccer that can inform training design, performance monitoring based on positional demands and top performers.