Visual exploratory activity and virtual reality in soccer: challenges and research gaps

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Simone Caso

Department of Human Movement Sciences, Faculty of Behavioural and Movement Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Citation

Caso, S. (2025). Visual exploratory activity and virtual reality in soccer: challenges and research gaps. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 56(6), 517-527. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2025.56.517

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) provides a simulated environment where soccer players can actively engage in lifelike scenarios potentially enhancing their performance (e.g., tactical awareness). The integration of VR technology into training has grown significant in recent years, driven by its immersive and versatile nature. Practitioners often claim that VR improves players’ perception skills, such as visual exploratory activity (VEA). VEA is an active head movement where a player’s face is temporarily directed away from the ball to gather information in preparation for subsequently engaging with the ball. It was studied to be an indicator for elite players and successful performance, especially for passing. However, the current literature presents limited studies on this topic. Therefore, this brief report explored, via a narrative review, several potential ways in which VR could be examined to determine its effectiveness in enhancing VEA in soccer players and, consequently, their performance (e.g., passing).

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence, Affordances, Decision making, virtual reality, visual exploratory activity, scanning

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