Structured sport and executive functions in Moroccan children: a seven-indicator analysis comparing soccer, taekwondo, and non-athletes.

This cross-sectional study examined whether structured sport participation is selectively associated with specific executive function (EF) components in preadolescent children. Participants were 120 Moroccan boys aged 8-12 years: soccer players (n = 30), taekwondo practitioners (n = 30), and non-athletes (n = 60). Seven EF indicators were analyzed separately (verbal and spatial updating, inhibitory control speed and accuracy, cognitive flexibility, and verbal and spatial storage) using culturally adapted neuropsychological instruments administered in Moroccan Arabic. ANCOVAs controlling for age revealed significant group differences in inhibition accuracy (η2p = .233), cognitive flexibility (η2p = .114), and both updating indicators (η2p = .074-.081), but not in passive storage (η2p < .03). A speed - accuracy trade-off emerged: athletes responded more slowly but committed significantly fewer Stroop errors. Soccer and taekwondo groups showed equivalent EF profiles on six of seven indicators, challenging the open-versus-closed-skill specificity hypothesis and consistent with a cognitive engagement account. Sport group explained 23.2% unique variance in inhibition accuracy beyond age. These findings indicate selective associations between structured sport and executive-demanding processes, not passive storage, and carry implications for neuropsychological assessment in sport-participating children. The cross-sectional design precludes causal inference; longitudinal and experimental research is needed.