History

History, Goals, Projections and Partnerships

The Centre of Research and Studies in Soccer (NUPEF) was idealized by Dr. Israel Teoldo da Costa and began its activities in August, 2010.
The purpose of the Centre is to develop cutting-edge researches within the Soccer area, and through its results, contribute to the development of more intelligent and creative players for the game. Furthermore, the Centre aims to develop qualified human resources to work in several areas of Soccer.
Since the beginning of its activities, the Centre has already welcomed more than 50 students from several states in Brazil, showing that, despite being in an early stage, the Centre has a solid purpose and of national interest, resulting from both the professional and academic communities.
Currently, the Centre is structured in three laboratories: Laboratory of Cognition and Action for Sports; Laboratory of Sports Psychology and Laboratory of Match Analysis.
The Laboratory of Cognition and Action for Sports has received support from the Office of State of Minas Gerais for Sports and Youth, through the State Law for Sports Encouragement, and has one of the most modern investigation devices in the area of decision making, the Mobile Eye Tracking.
The Laboratory of Sports Psychology has received support from the Rectorship of the Federal University of Viçosa and is in the final stages of implementation. Among the available devices is the Mental Test and Training System (MTTS), which allows the assessment and training of some cognitive processes of the athletes.
The Laboratory of Match Analysis features the System of Tactical Assessment in Soccer (FUT-SAT) to conduct studies which help coaches to improve training sessions and maximize players’ development, particularly at youth levels.
Currently, the Centre has been conducting scientific studies on the importance of cognition over both tactical and sports performance from players and teams. Our projects have been developed with the support of the Brazilian Soccer Confederation and several clubs from Brazil’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd divisions. Such contributions have been decisive to welcoming our research staff, and as a consequence, to the study in loco of the main variables which are determining for sports performance. Another positive aspect arising from these contributions is the quick feedback from the investigations to the coaching staffs and the immediate practical application of theirs results in daily practices.
Among the national partnerships settled in these first months of activity, we can highlight the scientific exchanges with the Laboratory of Cognition and Action for Sports from UFMG, coordinated by Professor Dr. Pablo Greco; with the Laboratory of Sport Psychology from UFMG, coordinated by Dr. Varley Teoldo da Costa; and with the Laboratory of Studies in Sport Pedagogy from UNICAMP, coordinated by Dr. Alcides José Scaglia. Besides that, the Centre has taken part in soccer-related training activities developed by Brazilian Soccer School from Brazilian Soccer Confederation, by the School of Physical Education from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, by the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports from the Federal University of Juiz de Fora and by the School of Physical Education from the Federal University of Pernambuco.
On the international scene, the Centre has academic-scientific partnerships with the Soccer Office from The Faculty of Sports of the University of Porto, coordinated by Dr. Júlio Garganta; with the Centre for Sports Medicine and Human Performance from Brunel University London, coordinated by Dr. Mark Williams;  with Dr. Markus Raab, in charge of the Department of Performance Psychology from the Psychology Institute of the University of Köln in Germany; with the Dr. Dieter Hackfort, Head of Department for Sport Science from the University of Munich in Germany; with the Dr. António Figueiredo, director of Faculty of Sport Science and Physical Education from University of Coimbra; and, more recently, has started cooperation with the University of Castilla-La Mancha, through the Dr. Sixto Gonzáles Víllora.
The expectation for the coming years is that the Center may increase its academic-scientific partnerships with the Institutions of Higher Education and receive support from more soccer clubs in Brazil and abroad in order to conduct researches. With such supports we foresee more qualified studies to be developed within the Soccer scope and more scientific contributions to get to the practical field and to the everyday of the clubs (practice and competition).