Participation Motives and Connection to Soccer of Male University Soccer Players: Implications for Stakeholders^.

Aims: The purpose of the study was to examine participation motives and connection to soccer of male university soccer players. It was predicted that participation motives and connection will be mediated by selected demographic factors of birth rank and year of study.

Methods: Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires from (n=242) male university soccer players who were taking part in a university soccer championship. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics of percentages and means while inferential statistics of one ANOVA was used to test for differences. Post hoc tests of Tukey Honestly Significant Differences (HSD) were used to trace the source of significant differences at 0.05 level of significance.

Results: Results revealed that most (72, 29.9%) of the players were in the fourth year of study, 104 (43.3%) were middle born and 93 (38.42%) had played soccer for the university team for three years. The major motives for participation in soccer were to develop physical skills and abilities, to keep in shape and to interact with others, while significant differences were based on birth rank and year of study. Most of the soccer players were highly connected to soccer, with no significant differences attributed to year of study and birth rank.

Conclusions and Recommendations: Based on these findings, it is recommended that coaches and team trainers need to take stock of the players` motives as they schedule training and competition. They should also explore ways and means of ensuring that soccer players are networked for continued participation in soccer.