Background: Executive functions (EF) help the individual to manage thoughts and actions to achieve specific goals. The importance of EF may play a pivotal role in the performance of an athlete, in certain types of sports, allowing athletes to make tactical and quick decisions while maintaining focus under pressure. Many researchers have presented a clear result in their studies, indicating that athletes have better EF in comparison with non-athletes which means that physical activity (PA) in the form of exercise related to sport could beneficially influence EF. Still, there is a knowledge gap concerning whether moderate PA beyond regular training acutely could enhance EF performance in athletes.  

Aim: The aim of this study was to test the acute effect of moderate PA on EF in female soccer players. A second aim was to study the association between two different tests measuring EF, the Digit Span Tasks (DST) and Trail Making Tests (TMT) 

Method: In an experimental intervention design 14 active, healthy female young soccer players were tested on two occasions. Data was collected on EF from two different tests: DST (forward and backward) measuring in digits, and TMT (TMT-A and TMT-B) measuring in time (sec) pre and post performing a moderate PA. The Wilcoxon Signed Ranged test was used to study differences pre and post PA, and Spearman’s correlation was used to analyze the association between the different EF tests. 

Results: The participants had a mean ± SD age 21 years ± 3. No statistically significant differences were found in DST forward pre and post PA (p=0.705), or DST backward (p=0.083). In addition, no statistically significant differences were found in TMT-A pre and post PA (p=0.245), or in TMT-B (p=0.124). The association between DST forward and TMT-A post PA indicated a high negative correlation (r = - 0.653), and association between DST backward and TMT-B post PA indicated a moderate negative correlation (r = - 0.334).  

Conclusion: There were no significant acute effects of moderate PA on EF measured with the DST and the TMT tests in female soccer players. Further, the DST and TMT tests had a moderate to high association, indicating the two different tests could be used equivalently in measuring EF.