Football coaching instructions: A scoping review with evidence gap map

While the coaches are fundamental to football and players, academic literature dedicated to this topic is limited. Most available knowledge derives from practical experience, with few scientific studies analyzing the type of instruction and feedback to optimize and develop football players. This gap in knowledge can hamper the effectiveness of coaching instruction and feedback in football, and his perceptions about this topic, leading to a misunderstanding of the coaching procedures attributes. A scoping review can provide a first step to organizing the existing literature and mapping existing knowledge about those involved in coaching (e.g., type of instruction and feedback) football players. Likewise, relevant knowledge gaps can be identified and help guide future research (Bergkamp et al., 2019; Zhao et al., 2024), and an evidence gap map (EGM) may help to highlight the most relevant areas for investigation. This information may provide valuable guidance for coaches and other professionals interested in improving their skills to train football players while, at the same time, inspiring clubs, academies, associations, and other education institutions to foster structured programs to train coaches.