"A range of movement at a joint or a series of joints.".
(Williams and Wilkins 1998).
They need this in order to be able ton kick the ball without pulling any muscles. Flexibility is especially important in the hamstring muscles as these are the main muscles in the leg which can easily be injured if they are not warmed up and stretched before playing. Warming up and stretching them makes them more flexible and less likely to become torn. Having good flexibility is not only important for the defenders, midfielders and strikers but is also needed by the goal keeper so that they can dive and reach for the ball when saving a shot. Body composition is also another important health related fitness component for football payers. Body composition is the height and weight of a person (somatotype). The ideal somatotype for a football player is a mesomorph. An example of a perfect mesomorph is David Beckham. A football player should not have excess body fat as this would affect the ability to move freely around the field, and the extra weight would increase fatigue. They also need to have good muscular endurance, this is.
" The ability for the muscles to keep working for a long period without getting tired".
(Williams and Wilkins 1998).
They need this because a football match lasts for ninety minutes so they need their muscles to keep working for the whole ninety minutes. Footballers need to have a fair amount of strength.
Strength can be defined as "The ability to exert maximum force, such as lifting the heaviest weight you can budge, one time.
(Williams and Wilkins 1998).
It is important for footballers to have this because in a game situation it can be quite rough and if a player has no strength they will easily be pushed off the ball. The strikers would need a lot of strength in their legs so that they can strike the ball with plenty of power. Defenders would also need to have strong legs so that they can clear the ball out of the danger area.