The purpose of this study was to investigate the motivational factors of students who specialize early on becoming professional footballers. The goal was to gain a deeper understanding of what motivates them. By developing more knowledge about what’s affecting the motivation of students focusing on elite soccer, a more stable foundation to assist these students in their progress can hopefully be introduced in the future.
The study was qualitative where four ambitious young people, two of each sex, in grade nine at a talent development school in Västra Götaland Region were selected. The gathered material was later analyzed by qualitative content analysis and the process resulted in four different categories:
Conclusions to be drawn after the survey are that all the interviewed students are experiencing great motivation. Motivation is interpreted as an emotion that means success and development. Competition and the desire to develop keeps students' motivation running. The concept of self-esteem has been shown to interact with the students' motivation. Differences between boys and girls were most pronounced in their views of the future. The boys have materialistic goals while girls seek confirmation.