Citation: Zacharko, M.;
Cichowicz, R.; Depta, A.; Chmura, P.;
Konefał, M. High Levels of PM10
Reduce the Physical Activity of
Professional Soccer Players. Int. J.
Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20,
692. https://doi.org/10.3390/
ijerph20010692
Academic Editor: Paul B.
Tchounwou
Received: 22 November 2022
Revised: 20 December 2022
Accepted: 27 December 2022
Published: 30 December 2022
Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors.
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
This article is an open access article
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conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
4.0/).
International  Journal  of
Environmental Research
and Public Health
Article
High Levels of PM10 Reduce the Physical Activity of
Professional Soccer Players
Michał Zacharko 1,*
, Robert Cichowicz 2
, Adam Depta 3,4, Paweł Chmura 5
and Marek Konefał 1
1
Department of Human Motor Skills, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, I.J. Paderewskiego 35,
51-612 Wrocław, Poland
2
Institute of Environmental Engineering and Building Installations, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architekture
and Environmental Engineering, Lodz University of Technology, Al. Politechniki 6, 90-924 Lodz, Poland
3
Department of Forecasts and Quantitative Analyses, Faculty of Organization and Management, Institute of
Management, Lodz University of Technology, Wolczanska Street 221, 93-005 Lodz, Poland
4
Department of Medical Insurance and Health Care Financing, Medical University of Lodz, Lindleya 6,
90-131 Lodz, Poland
5
Department of Team Games, Wroclaw University of Health and Sport Sciences, I.J. Paderewskiego 35,
51-612 Wrocław, Poland
*
Correspondence: michal.zacharko@awf.wroc.pl
Abstract: The aim of this study is to determine the impact of air quality, analyzed on the basis of
the PM10 parameter in three regions of Poland, on the physical activity of soccer players from the
Polish Ekstraklasa. The study material consisted of 4294 individual match observations of 362 players
during the 2019/2020 domestic season. The measured indices included the parameter of air quality—
PM10—and players’ physical activities: total distance (TD) and high-speed running (HSR). Poland
was divided into three regions (North, Central, South). The statistical analysis of particulate matter
(PM) and athletes’ physical activities, compared by region, revealed the effects in relation to the PM10
(H = 215.6566(2); p = 0.0001) and TD (H = 28.2682(2); p = 0.0001). Players performed better in regards
to physical parameters in the North Region, where air pollution is signiﬁcantly lower than in other
regions. This means that even a short stay in more polluted regions can reduce the performance of
professional footballers, which can indirectly affect the outcome of the match. Therefore, greater
actions should be taken to improve air quality, especially through changes in daily physical activity,
as this will reduce the carbon footprint.
Keywords: football; total distances covered; high speed running; intensity; air quality; particulate
matter; regions
1. Introduction
Air pollution is a factor that is currently attracting greater attention because of its
threat to human health (Schraufnagel et al., 2019) [1]. According to the Lancet Commission
on Pollution and Health, pollution is currently the principal environmental cause of disease
and premature death in the world. Pollution-induced diseases were responsible for around
9 million premature deaths in 2015 (Landrigan et al., 2018) [2] and 790,000 additional
deaths in Europe alone (Lelieveld et al., 2019) [3]. Moreover, air pollution is the most
important risk factor among all environmental pollutants (Cohen et al., 2017) [4]. One of
the most harmful parameters is particulate matter (PM), which is produced by burning
wood and fossil fuels, especially due to construction work and trafﬁc (Cichowicz and
Stel˛egowski, 2019) [5]. Its concentration depends on several factors, including the season
of the year, time of day, and location (Nieckarz and Zoladz, 2020) [6]. It is worth noting
that in large urban agglomerations in many cities around the world, increasingly higher
concentrations of PM are observed (Gupta et al., 2006; Khilnani and Tiwari, 2018; Tian
and Sun, 2017) [7–9]. In Poland, the concentration of PM and other parameters of air
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 692. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010692
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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pollutants varies depending on the region (Lubi´nski et al., 2005) [10]. Breathing air with a
high concentration of pollutants has a negative effect on health (Orru et al., 2017) [11]. This
effect has been extensively studied, and subsequent studies have consistently documented
the negative effects of pollution on people’s physical and mental health (Landrigan et al.,
2018; Welsch, 2007) [2,12]. Particulate matter is especially dangerous because it recruits
immune cells, increases oxidative stress in both the vascular system and the brain, and
makes the vascular system hypersensitive to vasoconstrictors, contributing to vascular
(endothelial) dysfunction (Münzel et al., 2018) [13]. It is also worth emphasising that air
pollution has a negative impact on several components of an individual’s mental health,
including subjective well-being (Li et al., 2018) [14], life satisfaction (Welsch, 2006) [15],
happiness (Welsch, 2007) [12], and even depressive symptoms (Zhang et al., 2017) [16].
These harmful effects of air pollution also apply to sports and physical activity, which
is why attention should be paid to examining the impact that pollution can have on an
individual’s health and level of physical activity (Roberts et al., 2014) [17].
Previous research has shown that there are many other factors affect an individual’s
physical (Marmot, 2005) [18] and mental health (Dolan et al., 2008) [19]. An example of such
a factor is physical activity, which has a positive impact on both physical (Downward et al.,
2016; Humphreys et al., 2014) [20,21] and mental health (Downward and Dawson, 2016;
Wicker and Frick, 2017) [22,23]. For this reason, a topic that is currently receiving special at-
tention is the impact of air pollution on the health of people who engage in physical activity
(An et al., 2018; Giles and Koehle, 2014) [24,25] and practice outdoor sports, including ath-
letes (Kuskowska et al., 2019; Reche et al., 2020) [26,27]. However, it should be emphasized
that all forms of physical activity increase the amount of air ventilated through the lungs
(minute ventilation—VE), which is several times greater during moderate-intensity exercise
than at rest (Bowen et al., 2019; Zoladz et al., 2019) [28,29]. For example, minute ventilation
(VE), which is about 6–8 L of air for a person at rest, can reach 30–50 L per minute during
moderate exertion and may even exceed 100 L per minute during very intense exercise
(Wasserman et al., 2011) [30]. Some athletes are able to exceed the VE value by up to 200 L
per minute, which is about 30 times more than at rest levels (Allen, 2004) [31]. During
increased intake of air, the amount of suspended solid particles inhaled is greater. This, in
turn, results in the deposition of more these substances in the respiratory tract and other
body organs (Nieckarz and Zoladz, 2020) [6].
Therefore, the study of soccer players is indicated, because they are particularly
exposed to the negative health effects of air pollution. The number and frequency of
professional soccer matches is large. Match schedules are very exhausting and teams need
to be ready to play up to 60 matches per season (Carling et al., 2018) [32]. During a 90 min
game, elite-level players run approximately 10 km and perform numerous explosive bursts
of activities, such as kicking, jumping, tackling, sprinting, changing direction, turning,
and sustaining forceful contractions to maintain balance and control of the ball against
defensive pressure (Stølen et al., 2005) [33]. Therefore, every match requires players to
be in top physical condition. The parameters of physical activity most frequently studied
and described in the literature are total distance covered (TD) and high-speed running
(HSR) (Aquino et al., 2021; Konefał et al., 2021) [34,35]. For example, Andrzejewski et al.,
(2018) [36] proved that total distance covered is signiﬁcantly greater for winning teams.
In other studies, both Chmura et al., (2018) [37] and Modric et al., (2019) [38] indicated
that high-intensity efforts (sprinting and fast running) should be included among the most
important measures of physical activity in soccer. The aim of this study is to determine
the impact of air quality, analyzed on the basis of the PM10 parameter in three regions of
Poland, on the physical activity of soccer players from the Polish Ekstraklasa.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Match Sample and Data Collection
Match performance data were collected from 362 soccer players competing in the
Polish Ekstraklasa during the 2019/2020 season. The league featured 16 teams, who faced
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 692
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each opponent twice during each season, at home and away. Additionally, after playing
30 matches, two groups were formed: the championship and the relegation group, and
in each of these, 7 additional matches were played. Thus, a season included 37 match
days and 296 matches. A total of 4294 individual match observations of outﬁeld players
(excluding goalkeepers, due to the speciﬁcity of the position) were made (Konefał et al.,
2019) [39]. Only data on players who completed entire matches (i.e., remained on the pitch
for the entire 90 min) were taken into account.
The physical activity data were collected using the previously-validated (Linke et al.,
2020) [40] TRACAB system (ChyronHego, NY, USA). This system consists of two multi-
camera units, each consisting of three HD-SDI cameras with a resolution of 1920 × 1080 pixels.
The sampling frequency of this system was 25 Hz. Two variables were analyzed: total dis-
tance (TD), distance covered in high-speed running (HSR; 19.8–25.1 km·h−1). The TRACAB
tracking system has been veriﬁed by passing the ofﬁcial FIFA (Fédération Internationale de
Football Association) test protocol for electronic performance and tracking systems (EPTS).
This study maintains the anonymity of the players (following data protection laws),
is conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and was approved by the
Senate Committee on Ethics of Scientiﬁc Research at the Academy of Physical Education in
Wroclaw (No. 12/2021).
2.2. Procedures
Data on air quality were collected on the basis of information from automatic air
monitoring stations, which were made available by the Voivodship Inspectorate for Envi-
ronmental Protection (WIO´S) and by the Main Inspectorate for Environmental Protection
(GIO´S) in Poland, whereas the meteorological data used in this analysis come from the In-
stitute of Meteorology and Water Management-National Research Institute. The parameter
PM10 was analyzed because its concentration is one of the basic parameters examined in
the assessment of air quality (Anderson et al., 2012; Zaric et al., 2021) [41,42]. However,
according to the European Union (Directive 2008/50/EC), the permissible annual average
concentration of PM10 is 40 µg·m−3, and the daily average concentration is 50 µg·m−3.
However, according to WHO (WHO, 2021) [43], the permissible annual average concentra-
tion of PM10 is 15 µg·m−3, and the daily average is 45 µg·m−3.
Data were collected from air quality measurement stations located closest to the
stadiums where matches were played, and all measurements were read with an accuracy
of 0.01 µg·m−3. In each analyzed match, three measurements of air pollution were made
(at the beginning, during the break, and at the end of the match). The arithmetic mean and
standard deviation were then calculated from these air pollution values.
Data on the analyzed pollutants came from a total of 15 monitoring stations, which
were divided into three regions of Poland (North Region, Central Region, South Region).
As a result, regions with different levels of air pollution were obtained (Lubi´nski et al.,
2005) [10]. Regions have been designated based on latitudes (Cox and Popken, 2020) [44],
with each region extending 2◦ north latitude (N). Regarding the North Region (latitude 53◦
N–55◦ N), the players play matches in the cities of Bialystok, Gdansk, Gdynia, and Szczecin
(1038 observations). In the Central Region (latitude 51◦ N–53◦ N), teams play matches
in the cities of Lodz, Lubin, Plock, Poznan, Wroclaw, and Warsaw (1624 observations).
In the South Region (latitude 49◦ N–51◦ N), the teams perform in the cities of Cracow,
Czestochowa, Gliwice, Kielce, and Zabrze (1632 observations). Thus, the locations were
obtained and marked with a combination of symbols relating to the region and the city
(Table 1 and Figure 1).
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 692
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Table 1. Measuring station symbols.
Symbol
Region
City Name
Population
NBia
North
Bialystok
293,413
NGda
North
Gdansk
486,271
NGdy
North
Gdynia
244,676
NSzc
North
Szczecin
394,482
CLod
Central
Lodz
664,860
CLub
Central
Lubin
69,267
CPlo
Central
Plock
113,660
CPoz
Central
Poznan
545,073
CWro
Central
Wroclaw
674,312
CWar
Central
Warsaw
1,863,056
SCra
South
Cracow
802,583
SCze
South
Czestochowa
210,773
SGli
South
Gliwice
172,628
SKie
South
Kielce
184,520
SZab
South
Zabrze
156,935
Population status as of 31 December 2021. Source: Central Statistical Ofﬁce.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, x FOR PEER REVIEW 
4 of 10 
 
 
Figure 1. Location of selected measuring stations in selected cities of Poland. 
Table 1. Measuring station symbols. 
Symbol 
Region 
City Name 
Population 
NBia 
North 
Bialystok 
293,413 
NGda 
North 
Gdansk 
486,271 
NGdy 
North 
Gdynia 
244,676 
NSzc 
North 
Szczecin 
394,482 
CLod 
Central 
Lodz 
664,860 
CLub 
Central 
Lubin 
69,267 
CPlo 
Central 
Plock 
113,660 
CPoz 
Central 
Poznan 
545,073 
CWro 
Central 
Wroclaw 
674,312 
CWar 
Central 
Warsaw 
1,863,056 
SCra 
South 
Cracow 
802,583 
SCze 
South 
Czestochowa 
210,773 
SGli
South
Gliwice
172 628
Figure 1. Location of selected measuring stations in selected cities of Poland.
2.3. Statistical Analyses
In the research, several methods of statistical inference were used, including the
Shapiro–Wilk normality test, tests of homogeneity of variance, i.e., Bartlett’s, Cochran’s,
and Hartley’s tests (used to verify the assumptions: about the normality of the explained
variable distribution and the homogeneity of its variance in the studied populations), and
the Kruskal–Wallis test, in the case of the data failing to meet the above assumptions.
In order to apply the analysis of variance for the variables—HSR, TD, PM10—initially,
the assumption regarding the normality of the distribution of the above-mentioned vari-
ables was checked using the Shapiro–Wilk test. In order to verify the null hypothesis
regarding the distribution normality of the results of the analyzed variables, the null hy-
pothesis that the examined feature of the population has a normal distribution was checked
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 692
5 of 9
against the alternative hypothesis that the feature of the population does not have a normal
distribution. At the signiﬁcance level of α = 0.05, the veriﬁed null hypothesis was rejected,
so it could not be concluded that the distribution of the variables was normal. In the next
stage, the assumption regarding the homogeneity of the variance of variables in the regions
was checked. At the signiﬁcance level of α = 0.05, the veriﬁed null hypothesis that the
variances in individual regions are the same for the analyzed variables was rejected. Due
to the failure of the above assumptions regarding the classical analysis of variance, the
non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test was used.
All statistical analyses were performed using the Statistica ver. 13.3 software package
(Dell Inc., Tulsa, OK, USA).
3. Results
Based on the results presented in Table 2, it can be concluded that the variables TD
and PM10 depend on the regions (p < 0.05).
Table 2. Value of air pollution and physical activity parameters by region (mean ± SD).
Parameter
Region
SSD
p < 0.05
North (N)
Central (C)
South (S)
PM10 [µg·m−3]
18.16 ± 11.70
22.20 ± 12.62
27.33 ± 20.32
N-C; N-S; C-S
Total Distance [km]
10.78 ± 0.83
10.61 ± 0.87
10.59 ± 0.90
N-C; N-S
High Speed
Running [m]
669.84 ± 204.55
656.10 ± 214.83
661.43 ± 214.26
-
SSD—statistically signiﬁcant differences.
The statistical analysis of PM and the physical activity of players, compared by regions
(North, Central, South), revealed the effects in relation to the PM10 (H = 215.6566(2);
p = 0.0001), TD (H = 28.2682(2); p = 0.0001). No signiﬁcant effect was found for HSR
(H = 3.411(2); p = 0.1817); Table 2.
4. Discussion
The aim of the study is to determine the impact of air quality, analyzed on the basis of
the PM10 parameter in three regions of Poland, on the physical activity of soccer players
from the Polish Ekstraklasa. On the basis of the literature reviewed, the authors noted
that only two studies have been published on the impact of air quality on the activity of
professional soccer players (Lichter et al., 2017; Zacharko et al., 2021) [45,46]. This study
is a continuation of an important observation described in the publication entitled, “Air
Pollutants Reduce the Physical Activity of Professional Soccer Players” (Zacharko et al.,
2021) [46]. Continuing the research in this area is very important, as it concerns the physical
activity of professional athletes, but it can also support the health-promoting nature of
the daily physical activity of the whole society. The quantitative and qualitative analysis
of soccer performance is currently very popular, as it can maximize the chances for team
success (Maneiro et al., 2020) [47].
Lichter et al. (2017) [45] proved that air pollution negatively affects footballers in
German stadiums. However, the performance indicator was limited to only the number
of passes attempted during the match. As soccer is considered a high-intensity sport, the
total distance covered and the running speed are more valuable parameters for assessing
the performance of the athletes in order to evaluate the impact of air quality (Barnes et al.,
2014) [48]. Therefore, in another study, based on the example of the German Bundesliga,
the topic of physical activity was discussed, and it was proved that the reduction in the
level of air quality during the match had a negative impact not only on technical activities,
such as passing, but also on total distance covered (TD) and high-speed running (HSR)
(Zacharko et al., 2021) [46]. In order to investigate the problem in more detail, research
was carried out in Poland, i.e., a country with more polluted air and characterized by large
regional differences in ambient air pollution (Kocot and Zejda, 2022) [49].
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 692
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Analyzing the average level of particulate matter in three regions of Poland, our
study found that the more northern the region, the lower the level of PM10 pollution. The
difference may be due to the fact that the South Region is the most industrial region in
Poland, which includes the Silesian Agglomeration and Cracow, which in turn are of the
cities with the worst air quality in Europe (Traczyk and Gruszecka-Kosowska, 2020) [50].
On the other hand, in the Central Region, there are large cities such as Warsaw, a city
more polluted than, for example, Bialystok or Gdansk, which are included in the North
Region (Slama et al., 2020) [51]. This is also due to the terrain and its roughness, as well
as meteorological conditions. Additionally, attention should be paid to the fact that in
Poland, the dominant wind directions are western and south-western, which may result
in both the transboundary and local displacement of pollutants, and the consequence
of this may be increased levels of pollution in a given area. Under the best air quality
conditions (the lowest levels of PM10), i.e., in the North Region of Poland, the players
exhibited a signiﬁcantly longer average TD compared to those noted in the Central Region
and South Region. In addition, when analyzing the HSR, it was noticed that in the North
Region, players also achieved the best results, although this is not supported by statistical
signiﬁcance. Thus, it can be seen that by playing matches in a less polluted environment,
soccer players can achieve better results regarding the physical parameters. This may be
caused mainly by geographic and meteorological conditions, as a consequence of lower
population density, higher average wind speed, and more green areas. In addition, it is
also worth analyzing the human body’s response to breathing polluted air and its impact
on the exercise capacity of the players.
All forms of physical activity increase the amount of air ventilated through the lungs
(minute ventilation—VE), which is several times higher than during rest, even during
moderate-intensity exercise (Allen, 2004; Bowen et al., 2019; Zoladz et al., 2019) [28,29,31].
Additionally, this causes a greater intake of particulate matter into the lungs and increases
the amount of particulate matter deposited in the respiratory tract. That is why air quality
is especially important during a soccer match because the effect of increased physical
exertion causes the absorption of harmful substances from the air into the body (Duda et al.,
2020) [52]. Moreover, Kargarfard et al. (2015) [53] showed that hematological parameters
and cardiovascular functions during exercise are disturbed by high concentrations of air
pollution. In athletes, the consequence is worsening lung function, which in turn results in
reduced peak expiratory ﬂow and increased airway inﬂammation (Qin et al., 2019) [54].
Moreover, elevated blood pressure caused by air pollution can even impaired exercise
capacity and decrease athletic performance (An et al., 2018; Tainio et al., 2021) [24,55].
Considering the negative impact of air pollution on the human body, it is worth
determining speciﬁc actions that should be taken so that athletes and fans are less exposed
to the harmful health effects related to poor air quality. Several very interesting concepts
were presented by Nieuwenhuijsen (2021) [56], the main suggestion of which was to
increase active transport (walking and cycling). By walking or cycling, the carbon footprint
produced by daily trips is reduced by up to 84%, compared to that created by car users
(Brand et al., 2021) [57]. At the same time, active transport will lead to an increase in
physical activity and, as a result, the promotion and improvement of health. This method
of movement may be supported by the concept of the so-called 15 min city, in which
schools, work, sports, shopping, and entertainment are all within a 15 min walking or
cycling distance from home (Moreno et al., 2021) [58]. Another solution could be a car-free
city that relies heavily on public, pedestrian, or bicycle transport (Nieuwenhuijsen and
Khreis, 2016) [59]. By applying the above concepts, the society (fans) can contribute to the
improvement of air quality in cities, and at the same time, affect the performance of players
during matches.
The authors are fully aware of numerous factors that could have inﬂuenced the results
of the presented analyses. The measuring stations were located close to the stadiums; how-
ever, to obtain more accurate measurements, the meters should be placed in the stadiums
themselves. In addition, as the meteorological conditions and the type of development
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 692
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between the stadium and the measuring station were not taken into account, the air quality
data may have been inaccurate. Another limitation is the failure to take into account other
parameters that make it possible to characterize the external load, such as acceleration,
deceleration, and player load, which also are used to express the demands of matches in
non-cyclical team sports. Additionally, the HSR parameter was not individualised based
on the percentage of maximum sprint speed, and the match results were not taken into
account. In addition, the time spent by the players before the match in a given zone, as
well as the diversity of the schedule of the games, were not taken into account. The above
limitations are worth considering in future research. Moreover, in subsequent studies, the
dynamics of regeneration processes in various air quality should be considered.
5. Conclusions
Air pollution is an important situational factor during soccer matches. Even a short-
term stay in a more polluted region can reduce the performance of professional soccer
players, which can indirectly affect the match outcome. Moreover, it seems that every fan
can take action in everyday life to improve air quality. Supporting one’s favorite players
and soccer teams should not be limited only to activity in the stadium, but should also
extend to daily physical activity, which will reduce the carbon footprint. As a result, this
change in daily activity will improve air quality, which will translate into signiﬁcant health
beneﬁts for both athletes and fans.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, M.Z., R.C. and M.K.; Methodology, M.Z., R.C. and M.K.;
Software, M.Z. and M.K.; Validation, M.Z., R.C. and M.K.; Formal analysis, M.Z., R.C., A.D., P.C.
and M.K.; Investigation, M.Z., R.C., A.D., P.C. and M.K.; Resources, M.Z., R.C., A.D. and M.K.; Data
curation, M.Z., R.C., A.D. and M.K.; Writing—original draft, M.Z. and M.K.; Writing—review &
editing, M.Z., R.C., A.D., P.C. and M.K.; Visualization, M.Z., R.C., A.D., P.C. and M.K.; Supervision,
M.Z., R.C., A.D., P.C. and M.K.; Project administration, M.Z., A.D., P.C. and M.K.; Funding acquisition,
M.Z. and M.K. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Institutional Review Board Statement: This study maintains the anonymity of the players (following
data protection laws), is conducted in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki, and was approved
by the Senate Committee on Ethics of Scientiﬁc Research at the Academy of Physical Education in
Wroclaw (No. 12/2021).
Informed Consent Statement: Not applicable.
Data Availability Statement: The data used for this study was acquired from a third-party, https:
//tracabportal.azurewebsites.net/login (access on 1 April 2021). The data was provided under
scientiﬁc cooperation with a football clubs currently appearing in Ekstraklasa. The authors’ ethical
approval also prevents them from sharing any data in any way that could be re-identiﬁed. The
metadata would allow someone else to re-identify teams and possibly players. However, access to
the data should be possible from the third-party. The data acquired were so called ‘excel dumps’ of
player statistics per match. Access to the data can be organized by contacting Match Analysis Hub:
info@chyronhego.com.
Conﬂicts of Interest: The authors declare no conﬂict of interest.
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High Levels of PM10 Reduce the Physical Activity of Professional Soccer Players.
Zacharko, Michał,Cichowicz, Robert,Depta, Adam,Chmura, Paweł,Konefał, Marek