BANGKOK POST - Science lifts lid: lengths of a player's fingers & his football ability!

Football has a pedigree dating back to mediaeval England, when villagers hoofed an inflated pig’s bladder around a muddy paddock. Today, though, the 22 football players on the pitch are supported by a ghost squad of scientists drawing on biomechanics, physics, nutrition, psychology and other performance-enhancing disciplines. The Bangkok Post presents 10 illustrative examples of how science has helped to change football, answer riddles and end hearsay! THE BANGKOK POST REPORTS: “DIGITAL FUTURE? – Punters looking for a tip on this year’s World Cup winners might be advised to take a close look at players’ hands. John Manning from Britain’s University of Liverpool suggests there is a link between the lengths of a footballer’s fingers and his ability as a player. Looking at British players, Manning found that the footballing elite had longer ring fingers compared to their index fingers. Manning’s theory is early exposure to testosterone in the womb is a key to heart formation and spatial judgement and finger length, which is why digits can be a telltale, but not a prediction, of prowess.” SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING: • Can finger length predict the new FIFA World Cup winner? • ‘The Finger Book’ by John T. Manning! • Jamaicans have the long ring finger: the story of Usain Bolt! • Finger length linked with football ability in professional players from Brazil!

About these ads