Virtual Reality Training on Technical Skills, Training Load and Mental Fatigue in Football

July 2, 2026 updated by: emre Gurbuz, Manisa Celal Bayar University

The Effect of Virtual Reality Training on Technical Skills, Training Load and Mental Fatigue in Football Players

Virtual reality (VR) technology has emerged as a promising supplementary training tool in football, yet no study has simultaneously examined its effects on technical skills, training load, and mental fatigue within a randomized controlled design. This study evaluated the effects of an 8-week Rezzil Index® VR training program on football-specific technical skills, training load (sRPE), and mental fatigue in licensed male football players. Twenty-four male football players (age: 18.82±0.85 years) were randomly assigned to a VR training group (n=12) or a control group (n=12). The VR group completed two supplementary sessions per week using the Rezzil Index® application (HTC Vive Pro and Oculus Quest 2) in addition to regular team training. Football-specific technical skills, mental fatigue (Modified Color-Word Stroop Test), and training load (session RPE) were assessed pre- and post-intervention. The VR group demonstrated statistically significant improvements in all technical skill measures (p<0.05; d=0.91-1.69, large effects). Rezzil Index® VR training is an effective complementary method for improving football-specific technical skills.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

24

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Manisa, Turkey (Türkiye)
        • Manisa Celal Bayar University, Faculty of Sport Sciences

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Licensed male football players aged 18 years or older
  • Active participation in regular team training
  • No history of serious musculoskeletal injury in the past 6 months

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of serious injury or surgical intervention
  • Psychiatric or neurological conditions
  • Regular use of medication affecting cognitive performance
  • Prior experience with VR training systems

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: VR Training Group
Participants completed Rezzil Index VR training twice weekly for 8 weeks in addition to regular team training.
Device: Rezzil Index VR
Immersive VR football training application (HTC Vive Pro and Oculus Quest 2), 2 sessions/week, 8 weeks
Active Comparator: Control Group
Participants continued regular team training only.
Behavioral: Regular Team Training
Participants continued their standard club football training sessions as normal, with no additional VR-based or experimental intervention applied.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Football-Specific Technical Skills (Heading, Moving Ball Striking, Fixed Ball Striking, Loughborough Soccer Passing Test)
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8
Baseline and Week 8

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Training Load (Session Rating of Perceived Exertion - sRPE)
Time Frame: Weekly, 8 weeks
Internal training load quantified using session Rating of Perceived Exertion (sRPE), calculated as RPE × session duration (minutes).
Weekly, 8 weeks
Mental Fatigue (Modified Color-Word Stroop Test)
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 8
Mental fatigue assessed using the Modified Color-Word Stroop Test, measuring reaction time (ms) and error rate. Longer reaction times and higher error rates indicate greater mental fatigue.
Baseline and Week 8

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Manisa Celal Bayar University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

December 1, 2022

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

June 29, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 2, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 2, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 20.478.486/1607

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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