Background <p>Tactical performance in football emerges from the interaction of perceptual-cognitive processes, decision-making, positional responsibilities, psychological regulation, and coordinated action under changing game constraints. Although tactical behaviour can be examined through observational and game-based procedures, there remains a need for a standardized, practically administered self-report instrument that captures how players evaluate their own tactical actions across different developmental and competitive contexts. This study aimed to develop and initially validate the Football Tactical Skills Scale (FTSS) and to examine whether FTSS scores differed according to selected player, training, and psychosocial characteristics.</p> Methods <p>The study used a cross-sectional survey and scale-development design. The scale-development process included a pilot study (<i>n</i> = 50), exploratory factor analysis (<i>n</i> = 320), and confirmatory factor analysis (<i>n</i> = 320). Group comparisons were conducted in a sample of 700 football players aged 14 years and older (x̄_age=18.22 ± 4.60). Content validity, construct validity, internal consistency, lower-upper group discrimination, and convergent and discriminant validity were examined. Descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance, independent-samples t-tests, Tamhane’s T2 post-hoc tests, eta-squared, and Cohen’s d were used in the comparative analyses.</p> Results <p>The 17-item FTSS comprised four dimensions: game reading and decision-making, psychological skills and game discipline, transitions in game and field utilization, and strategic thinking and risk management. The factor structure showed acceptable-to-excellent fit and satisfactory reliability and validity indicators. Higher self-reported FTSS scores were observed among older players, players competing at higher league levels, players reporting more weekly training sessions, mental training, visual support training, and better communication with coaches. Scores also differed by playing position; midfielders obtained the highest total scores, whereas wingers obtained the highest scores in strategic thinking and risk management (<i>p</i>&lt;0.001).</p> Conclusions <p>The findings provide initial support for the FTSS as a multidimensional self-report questionnaire for assessing players’ perceived tactical skills in football. The scale was sensitive to systematic differences across age, position, competitive level, training exposure, and selected psychosocial characteristics. Because the study was cross-sectional and did not include an external criterion of observed tactical performance, FTSS scores should not be interpreted as direct measures of match behaviour or as evidence of causal effects. Future research should examine test-retest reliability, measurement invariance, cross-cultural validity, and criterion validity against tools such as FUT-SAT, GPAI, coach ratings, notational analysis, and representative small-sided games.</p>