Exploring the motivations and expectations in the amateur football referee

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand the differences between male and female motivations and experiences of being football referee. A semi-structure qualitative interview was made to eighth football referees (4 male and 4 female) with ages between 19 and 27 years (23.4±3.10). The participants were refereeing regional and national Portuguese football matches. In the content analysis emerged two components (Experiences and Motivations) and for each component six and four categories respectively. Results demonstrated that female referees are perceived as capable of the same achievement than men. In the first stages of refereeing career, female and male presents similar motivations regarding the development of different capabilities (focus; decision-making; leading with pressure; conflict management) and the most important relevant being passion for the game. However, the sexism is still felt by women which have to lead with more stereotypes and phycological abuse of a men dominant sports. Consequently the feeling that have to work harder than men to achieve their goals.