Elite soccer players are smarter

A new study in Sweden has demonstrated that there is no such thing as a dumb soccer player.

Astudy of elite soccer players — 57 male and 26 female soccer players from Sweden’s three top divisions — showed that they scored above average — compared to a nationwide sample — for “executivefunction” and their cognitive scores went up as their playing scores did.

Executive function includes among other things creative problem solving. Whether players are born with theseskills or learn them in training and games remains to be seen.

“The study cannot answer the question whether the difference in executive functions mirrors practice or genes,” theresearchers said in a statement. “There is probably both an inherited component and a component that is trained.”