PARTICIPATION MOTIVATION AMONG YOUNG SOCCER ATHLETES: RESEARCH EVIDENCE FROM GREECE

Authors

  • Alexopoulos Panagiotis Associate Professor, Department of Sports Management, University of Peloponnese, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejpe.v6i7.3325

Keywords:

soccer, sport motivation, young soccer athletes, motivation participation, motivation scale

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine participation motives of youth soccer players and to examine their participation motives with regard to their age, sport experience, and training volume levels. The sample of this empirical research consisted of 171 young soccer athletes from 16 different soccer teams, all located in the prefecture of Ilia, Western Greece. The well-known sports participation motivation questionnaire (PMQ) was used. Analysis of data was conducted by the use non-parametric k-independent-samples t-tests. The results showed that among the components of the sports participation motivation, significant differences were observed for the aspects of achievement and the aspect of finding friendship. No other significant differences were found. The results of this study confirm that sport experience and the athletes’ age is effective in motivating athletes' continuation and commitment to their physical activity.

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Author Biography

  • Alexopoulos Panagiotis, Associate Professor, Department of Sports Management, University of Peloponnese, Greece
    Panagiotis D. Alexopoulos is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sports Management and Organization, at the University of Peloponnese, and also the Dean of Faculty of Human Movement Sciences and Quality of Life, at the University of Peloponnese. He is the Director of the Academic Laboratory, entitled “Services Management & Organization and Quality of Life Laboratory”, at the University of Peloponnese.

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Published

2020-09-18

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 7 (2020)

Section

Articles

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