Soccer Players’ Attitudes toward and Preferences for Male and Female Coaches

This study aims to determine soccer players’ attitudes toward and preferences for male and female coaches. One hundred and forty-five professional soccer players (male: 103, female: 42, age range 18–35 years) participating in Division 1 in the Eastern Mediterranean completed a modified Attitudes Toward Male and Female Coaches Questionnaire (AAMFC-Q) in addition to their demographic characteristics, and general information. A 2 (athletes’ gender) x 2 (hypothetical coach’s gender) multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicated a significant two-way multivariate interaction [F(3, 141) = 22.79, p < 0.001] with significant main effects [F(3, 141) = 12.16, p < 0.001] for the gender of the athlete or gender of the hypothetical coach. Our results demonstrated that male soccer players have a preference for male coaches, as indicated by item 12 (“I would prefer it if my new football (soccer) coach were a man”), while female soccer players demonstrated a preference for female coaches. Additionally, male soccer players had significantly (p < 0.01) less favorable attitudes toward female coaches on all items except for question 8 (“I could discuss things with her easily”). In contrast, female soccer players did not exhibit as many negative attitudes toward male soccer coaches. Based on the results of our study, it is evident that male players in sports such as soccer remain resistant to accepting female soccer coaches. This may be a result of greater exposure to male coaches, as none of the male players in our study had previously had a female coach.