Sociology of Soccer
In the 1990s Peter Figueroa developed Figueroa’s Framework, a structure to help identify and explain certain factors that affect a person’s involvement and participation in sport. There are a number of barriers on the cultural level that prevent participation in sport including sport dominance in the favour of a particular gender and stereotyping while personality and genes affect involvement at an individual level. Soccer is a sport that has gained a reputation as one of the most successful with over 260 million players worldwide, but the above barriers along with gender inequality have remained a problem over the years. To address these issues recommendations will be made to help improve equity and increased participation …show more content…
Even though there was open space directly where a female was calling for the ball, the boys would choose to make a risky pass to another male in the hope that it would mean retained possession. This occurs because society has created stereotypes that entail woman are weaker and less skilled than males therefore it is automatically assumed that if a girl gets possession of the ball it would be stolen immediately or would make a poor passing choice. This is not a decision made consciously and is affected by the cultural level of Figueroa’s structure. From a young age society pushes these ideas onto children which has led to ignoring of an individual’s skill level and focusing on the perception that all girls are weak and unskilled. When a team consistently passes around female players it allows them to feel like they cannot contribute to the game lowering their motivation and self-esteem. This flow on effect would lead to female players standing around on the field not participating in the …show more content…
The main biological differences that relate to performance in soccer are strength, power, speed and height. According to a study conducted men have about 90% greater upper-body strength, 65% greater lower-body strength and have 25% faster sprint times than women. (Controversy, 2014) These statistics suggest a clear reason why females would choose to not participate in sports with men involved. With males tendency to be more aggressive during sport along with their physical differences many females feel intimidated when playing a contact sport against them. A drill executed in class supported this theory. A ball would be kicked a few meters ahead of two players who had to run shoulder to shoulder competing for possession. In most cases where a boy was paired with a girl the boy would dominate by either beating the opponent to the ball through increased speed or use their strength to push the other player aside to win. This led to female players giving up and backing off their opponent at first glance of more speed or strength. This lowered confidence also contributed to lack of participation. This has a lot to do with the individual level of Figueroa’s Framework relating to a person’s personality and genes. To solve this if there were sufficient numbers would be to hold girl only games for those that would like to play and be given the chance to improve their skills
In the 1990s Peter Figueroa developed Figueroa’s Framework, a structure to help identify and explain certain factors that affect a person’s involvement and participation in sport. There are a number of barriers on the cultural level that prevent participation in sport including sport dominance in the favour of a particular gender and stereotyping while personality and genes affect involvement at an individual level. Soccer is a sport that has gained a reputation as one of the most successful with over 260 million players worldwide, but the above barriers along with gender inequality have remained a problem over the years. To address these issues recommendations will be made to help improve equity and increased participation …show more content…
Even though there was open space directly where a female was calling for the ball, the boys would choose to make a risky pass to another male in the hope that it would mean retained possession. This occurs because society has created stereotypes that entail woman are weaker and less skilled than males therefore it is automatically assumed that if a girl gets possession of the ball it would be stolen immediately or would make a poor passing choice. This is not a decision made consciously and is affected by the cultural level of Figueroa’s structure. From a young age society pushes these ideas onto children which has led to ignoring of an individual’s skill level and focusing on the perception that all girls are weak and unskilled. When a team consistently passes around female players it allows them to feel like they cannot contribute to the game lowering their motivation and self-esteem. This flow on effect would lead to female players standing around on the field not participating in the …show more content…
The main biological differences that relate to performance in soccer are strength, power, speed and height. According to a study conducted men have about 90% greater upper-body strength, 65% greater lower-body strength and have 25% faster sprint times than women. (Controversy, 2014) These statistics suggest a clear reason why females would choose to not participate in sports with men involved. With males tendency to be more aggressive during sport along with their physical differences many females feel intimidated when playing a contact sport against them. A drill executed in class supported this theory. A ball would be kicked a few meters ahead of two players who had to run shoulder to shoulder competing for possession. In most cases where a boy was paired with a girl the boy would dominate by either beating the opponent to the ball through increased speed or use their strength to push the other player aside to win. This led to female players giving up and backing off their opponent at first glance of more speed or strength. This lowered confidence also contributed to lack of participation. This has a lot to do with the individual level of Figueroa’s Framework relating to a person’s personality and genes. To solve this if there were sufficient numbers would be to hold girl only games for those that would like to play and be given the chance to improve their skills