Evaluation of the Sportsmanship-Aggression Continuum in Youth Football

Abstract

Given the importance of sport in modern society, it is essential that appropriate instruments are available for the assessment of both fair play and unfair play in the sport of football, particularly in the context of youth football. This research study presents the findings from the implementation of a protocol intended to assess fair play during football matches across three seasons. The study included 64 teams, 1192 players, 64 coaches and 292 referees all of whom were involved in the First Cadet category of the Football Federation of Alava (FFA). The measurement instrument employed was the Record of Football Match Evaluations (RFME) developed by Gimeno, Saenz, Arino and Aznar (2007). The results revealed that there was a high level of fair play at this level of play which extended to referees, coaches and players across the seasons of interest; there was a greater frequency of fair play attitudes relative to unfair play attitudes; home teams that were victorious were judged to have the most favorable fair play attitudes; and there was a negative correlation between perceived fair play and the number of cards shown by referees. The instrument 1) allowed for the effective utilization of a tool to assess fair play in youth football; 2) was effective for use over the course of the season; and 3) provided knowledge about the social agents who initiate inappropriate and unsportsmanlike acts during football matches for of school age youth, which enables consideration of appropriate counter measures.