Modeling Psycho-Spiritual Factors and Performance Perception During Ramadan Fasting in Muslim Footballers in a Muslim-Majority Context

We examined the direct and indirect associations among positive self-perception of Ramadan (PSPR), intrinsic and extrinsic religious motivation (IRM, ERM), positive and negative mood (PMood, NMood), and perceived performance (PP) in 470 male Tunisian footballers observing Ramadan fasting (RF). Data were collected through an online questionnaire and analyzed via structural equation modeling with bias-corrected bootstrapping. PSPR was the strongest correlate of PP (β = 0.38, p < 0.001) and was associated with higher PMood (β = 0.55, p = 0.001) and lower NMood (β = −0.45, p < 0.001). PSPR was also indirectly associated with PP through both PMood (β = 0.17, p < 0.001) and NMood (β = 0.11, p < 0.001). In contrast, religious motivation played a limited role: ERM showed a small negative association with PP (β = −0.15, p = 0.034), whereas IRM was unrelated to mood and PP; neither motive showed significant indirect associations through mood. Although the cross-sectional design precludes causal inference, our findings suggest that how athletes appraise fasting is more closely related to their mood and performance perceptions than their general religious motivation. This highlights the appraisal of RF as a relevant target for sport psychology research and practice.