Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the developmental activities of Chinese female national and professional football players. Design and methods A total of 193 players (62 national-level, 131 professional-level) completed the Participation History Questionnaire (PHQ), which included demographic information (birthdate, birthplace), milestones across childhood (6-12 years), adolescence (13-17 years), and adulthood (>18 years), engagement in football-specific activities, participation in other sports, and social support factors. Results Chi-square tests revealed a significant relative age effect (RAE) among professional players (Q1: 36.6%, 48/131; X2 (3) = 10.832, P = 0.013), but not among national players (X2(3) = 3.419, P = 0.331), and no significant between-group difference in birth-quarter distribution (X2(3) = 0.256, P = 0.968, Cramer's V = 0.036). With respect to birthplace, both national and professional players were predominantly born in economically developed and densely populated cities, with 37.2% (64/172) originating from (emerging) first-tier cities and 46.5% (80/172) from megacities. Chi-square tests indicated no significant between-group differences in birthplace distributions across either economic tiers (X2 (4) = 3.038, P = 0.55, Cramer's V = 0.113) or population-size categories (X2 (3) = 0.715, P = 0.87, Cramer's V = 0.064). Milestone analyses demonstrated that national players initiated football participation (8.6 ± 1.6 vs. 10.8 ± 1.9 years, Z = -7.042, P < 0.001), commenced coach-led practice (10.3 ± 2.1 vs. 11.2 ± 1.9 years, Z = -3.380, P = 0.001), and reached the first team of senior professional clubs (17.9 ± 1.1 vs. 18.6 ± 1.4 years, Z = -3.845, P < 0.001) at significantly younger ages than professional players. Only 7.8% of players (15/193) (National: N = 10, Professional: N = 5) reported engagement in other sports. No significant between-group differences were observed in perceived social support. Conclusions These findings characterize the developmental profiles of Chinese female football players and provide a basis for refining talent identification systems and informing evidence-based strategies for long-term athlete development and differentiated training programmes.
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