What makes soccer fun? Investigating fun priorities among Swedish adolescents by gender, age, perceived competence, and sports program type

Abstract

Lack of fun has been described as a prominent reason for dropping out of soccer. Hence, understanding what makes soccer fun is critical to promoting continued participation. Efforts to facilitate fun experiences require insight into adolescents’ priorities regarding what constitutes fun in soccer. Based on the fun integration theory's fun factors and determinants, we aimed to explore the prioritization of those factors and determinants among adolescents in Sweden and investigate similarities and differences in their prioritization by gender, age, perceived competence, and sports program type. Participants were 494 adolescent soccer players (356 boys, 137 girls, and 1 other) from six soccer clubs and one soccer-focused upper secondary school from urban and rural areas in Sweden. Results showed Positive Team Dynamics, Trying Hard, Positive Coaching, and Learning and Improving were the highest ranked fun factors among Swedish adolescent soccer players, with consistent patterns across gender, age, perceived competence, and sport program type. From a theoretical perspective, the findings provide further support for the fun integration theory and the hierarchical structure of fun, reflecting the youth athletes’ fun ethos. Practically, the study findings highlight that in Swedish adolescent soccer fun may be supported by positive coaching practices, fostering team cohesion, emphasizing effort, and supporting skill development.