The phenomen of sport dropout: Internal stakeholder perceptions

Background: At a young age, the phenomenon of abandoning sports practice is frequent. This can be attributed to various causes that, however, are not investigated in the literature. The aim of this study is to understand the perceptions of the main internal stakeholders (coaches and technical managers) with regard to the possible causes for early drop-out from football. Methods: The sample that took part in this study consisted of 15 coaches and 12 technical managers of football schools in the province of Naples. The study made use of the following methods: analysis of scientific literature, formulation and administration of a questionnaire, and data analysis using mathematical and statistical methods. To analyze the data, the chi-square test (X2) was applied. Results: The results showed that 86.7% of the coaches and 66.6% of the technical managers have social education as their primary goal, with a significant relationship in the perception of the two categories at p=2.80692E-25. Furthermore, it was found that, according to 66.7% of the coaches and 50% of the technical managers, early leaving causes insecurity in children, with a significant relationship in the perception of the two categories at p=0.002. Conclusion: The study showed that, among the many possible causes of dropout, the attitude of the main internal stakeholders of football schools also has a considerable effect. This study investigated the perceptions of the main internal stakeholders of football schools, an element that other studies have neglected, focusing on other causes to address the phenomenon.