Introduction: The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between athletic intelligence and motor competence in young football players and to provide a model for predicting motor competence based on athletic intelligence components.

Method: This research was a correlational study with a structural equation modeling approach. The statistical population included 9- to 12-year-old youth football players in Tehran, from whom 238 participants were selected through convenience and purposive sampling. Research instruments included the Athletic Intelligence Quotient (AIQ) and the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK3+). Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise regression analysis.

Findings: Results showed a positive and significant relationship between athletic intelligence and motor competence in youth football players (p<0.01). Visual-spatial processing components (spatial relations with r=0.43 and visual memory with r=0.38) and learning efficiency (associative learning with r=0.39) had the highest correlations with motor competence, while reaction time components showed negative correlations with motor competence. Stepwise regression results indicated that three components—spatial relations, visual memory, and associative learning—collectively predicted 29.7% of the variance in motor competence, with contributions of spatial relations (19.2%), visual memory (7.4%), and associative learning (3.1%).

Conclusion: Athletic intelligence serves as a significant predictor of motor competence in youth football players and can be utilized in early talent identification processes and the design of cognitive-motor training programs. These findings emphasize the importance of cognitive approaches in the development of foundational sports.