1 1 Motriz, Rio Claro, v.23, n.3, 2017, e101753 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1980-6574201700030023 Introduction Football is a cultural phenomenon of high impact on a global scale. This phenomenon has enhanced the attractiveness of the sport as a professional occupation for performers at the highest level, where the fnancial rewards for success are considerable 1 . Thus, it is not surprising that the development of youths into expert or professional soccer players in adulthood is being the goal of professional clubs and national governing bodies 2 . Moreover, most soccer academies are seeking to optimize the development of their young players and helping them acquire the skills necessary to perform successfully in formal compe- tition along their developmental pathway 3 . This pathway can last for 14 years before the child achieve adulthood 4 and along mentioned period a signifcant investment of practice time and effort is required to reach an elite level of performance 5 . In this context, the practice conditions may be a decisive factor to long-term success in soccer 1 , where the game variants used in the formal soccer matches can assume a determinant role during formative years of the players. In previous decade, the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) increased the pressures so that each Association member (i.e., each country) to organize soccer matches adapted to the physical, cognitive, and maturational level of young players with purpose to provide them adjusted developmental conditions 6 . Despite these pressures, it is still recurring to fnd young players competing in game conditions unsuitable to skill level and age of the players, in particular the 11-a-side soccer game 7 . Therefore, an important question to consider is whether the 11-a-side game variant should be used in the early stages of the young players’ learning pro- cess 8,9 . Previous studies suggested that soccer matches played in variants with these characteristics, limit the number of contacts the players have with the ball 10,11 as well as improve tactical complexity by increasing the variability of actions and the possibilities of play 12 . In addition, Capranica, Tessitore 13 suggested that there are advantages in 7-a-side game variant compared to 11-a-side for players of 11 years old. These au- thors concluded the 7-a-side variant induces an increase in the number of passes and a decrease in the number of ball losses, compared to the 11-a-side. Another study by Lapresa, Arana 14 analyzed the ball circulation patterns in 7-a-side, 9-a-side, and 11-a-side variants, concluding the 7-a-side and 9-a-side promotes the development of game space management skills, compared to the 11-a-side. Recently, Randers, Andersen 15 suggested that playing with fewer players on smaller pitches results in minor changes to the physical loading but increases technical involvement (stimulus) of players. In general, it can be considered that determined game conditions can constraint the skills improvement of the players along their developmental process 16 . Accordingly, the aforementioned studies highlighted the need to adapt the game variant to the players´ capabilities, in order to provide the appropriate conditions to their technical and tactical development. Original Article (short paper) The game variants in Europe. Trends and perspectives in youth competitive stages Ângelo Miguel Pedregal Brito José António Ribeiro Maia Júlio Manuel Garganta Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal Ricardo Filipe Lima Duarte Ana Maria Fite Alves Diniz Universidade de Lisboa, Cruz Quebrada, Lisboa, Portugal Abstract — Aims: The aim of this study was to verify how European countries manage the type of game variants and their frequency along youth competitive stages. Methods: Data were collected from the offcial rules of youth football championships. To identify countries homogenous groups according to their game variants, Two Step Cluster Analysis procedure was used while a nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the game variants distribution in each Cluster. In order to correlate the game variants with age groups, a Chi-Square independence test and a Spearman ordinal correlation coeffcient were used. Results: The results showed there were fve clusters with signifcant differences in their game variants distribution (X 2 kw (4) = 22.149; p<0.001; n = 30) and a signifcant correlation between age group and game variant (χ 2 (63) = 477.724; p<0.001; n = 30). Specifcally, the most used game variants in each age group were the fve-a-side (F5) in Under-8; the nine-a-side (F9) in Under-12; the seven-a-side (F7) in Under-9 and Under10; and the eleven-a-side (F11) in and above Under-13. Conclusion: These results may contribute to understand the different country perspectives about the competitive game variants of youth football within the European space and its relation with diverse learning philosophies and pathways. Keyword: youth soccer, game variants, team sport, development pathways, association football