ABSTRACT
Introduction: The current study analysed the impact of spatial occlusion training on control and pass
accuracy in football. Occlusion was achieved using goggles that removed the sight of the lower limbs
and football as it was projected towards the participants.
Methods: Fifteen skilled male football players were randomly assigned to one of three groups;
Occlusion, Practice and Control. Participants were required to control a projected football, before
passing it to one of two designated targets, while concurrently identifying a series of randomly
generated numbers. Pass direction was determined by a directional arrow that accompanied each
number, which coincided with the football release. The study design consisted of a pre-test, training
intervention (400 trials), post-test and 2-day retention test. The performance was evaluated via three
variables: outcome error, control error and number call error.