1
Istanbul Rumeli University, Faculty of Sport Sciences, Istanbul, Turkiye
2
Marmara University, Institute of Health Sciences, Istanbul, Turkiye
Abstract
Today, while the depth of the leagues has become decisive in the choice of women’s football as a job, research exploring the sectoral structural patterns is increasing. This study, conducted assuming that work is a fact of existence, aims to illuminate how women, positioned as workers in the football sector, make sense of football as work. The study utilized the semi-structured interview, one of the qualitative research designs. Questions, documented in personal information and semi-structured interview forms, were asked to 12 Women’s Football Super League players, assigned to the study group by snowball sampling. The data were analyzed employing MAXQDA Analytics Pro through descriptive and content analyses. The findings highlighted seven primary level sub-themes: determinants of the choice to become a professional women football player; women’s football ‘job’; women’s status in sportive performance life as a footballer; criteria for becoming a super league player; rewards, risks, supports and barriers; interpersonal relationships; sustainable career paths, vulnerability. In conclusion, family, peers and physical education teachers are the driving force in starting football; women’s football offers opportunities; early retirement, precariousness, intensive training and away matches shape the work-life balance in a work-oriented way; there is an open space in the creation and development of social rights and obligations; body capital is the leading component of becoming a super league player; the coach shined out in interpersonal relations, while the opponents, team players, and administrators shone in in-game dynamics; career fragility fueled the thoughts of quitting football; academic and personal development, playing for the national team and foreign leagues, dual career options, and coaching offers were placed at the center of career plans.
Keywords
Football career,making sense of work,women’s football
How to Cite
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,
Yunus Emre Ak
2
