Adolescents’ Perceptions of Female Celebrities’ Participation in Futsal : A Text Mining Analysis of Kick a Goal

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyze adolescents’ perceptions of sports as reflected in the sports entertainment program “Kick a Goal.” <br/> Method: Text mining, one of the big data analysis methods, was utilized. One-line review data written by adolescents after watching the program were collected and analyzed using the R software (version 3.5.2). Frequency analysis, word cloud analysis (minimum frequency = 5 and 9), and topic modeling were conducted.<br/> Results: Frequency analysis identified the top 60 keywords, while the word cloud analysis visualized the most salient words. Topic modeling revealed five main themes: (1) celebrities who became athletes, (2) breaking away from traditional gender ideologies, (3) emotion-oriented storytelling, (4) rediscovering sports entertainment, and (5) passion and dedication extending beyond the soccer experience. These results indicated that the cast members were perceived not as professionals but as sincere participants, that traditional gender boundaries in soccer were weakening, and that audiences were emotionally engaged with the cast’s growth and effort.<br/> Conclusion: This study suggests that adolescents recognize female celebrities’ participation in futsal as meaningful, interpreting it both as a challenge to gender norms and as a rediscovery of sports entertainment. These findings provide insights into how perceptions of sports are constructed through popular culture and understood by young people.