Introduction: It is believed that the optimal and ideal core stability is necessary to achieve maximum strength and performance and weak core stability causes changes in force transmission. Playing football for an entire football match and the resulting fatigue may decline the force generation capability of muscles. Therefore the aim of this study was to identifying the functional fatigue effects on core stability in football players.

Methods: Sixteen collegiate football player with an average level of 6 hours sport activities per week were participated in this study. Core muscles endurance were assessed with the modified McGill protocol before and after a 90-minute football match. The protocol consists of four isometric endurance tests: trunk flexor test, trunk extensor test, and left and right lateral musculature tests. The total score was calculated from all the four tests. Data analysis was performed using paired samples t-test in SPSS version 21 (α=0.05).

Results: The findings showed that core stability was significantly decreased (p=0.000) after participating in the 90-minute football match (with the decrease of 23.86 percent compared to the pre-test).

Conclusion: The results of the research provided evidence of the impact of functional fatigue on core stability which can be stated that 90 minutes of football match-play lead to a decrease in muscle endurance in the trunk and a negative effect on core stability. It is suggested that football coaches and players include central muscle strengthening exercises in their training programs so that they can use their capabilities until the end of a match.