From Pitch to Console: Exploring the Role of Football eSports in the Development of Young Footballers

Objectives. The study aimed to analyse the impact of football eSports on the perceptions of young footballers, focusing on the key components, namely motivation, technical and tactical skill development, and career choices in the football context. Materials and methods. Forty-two young footballers...

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Main Authors: Rosario Ceruso, Genoveffa De Cesare, Arben Kaçurri, Agron Kasa, Giampiero Merati
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: OVS LLC 2025-05-01
Series:Physical Education Theory and Methodology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tmfv.com.ua/journal/article/view/3359
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author Rosario Ceruso
Genoveffa De Cesare
Arben Kaçurri
Agron Kasa
Giampiero Merati
author_facet Rosario Ceruso
Genoveffa De Cesare
Arben Kaçurri
Agron Kasa
Giampiero Merati
author_sort Rosario Ceruso
collection DOAJ
description Objectives. The study aimed to analyse the impact of football eSports on the perceptions of young footballers, focusing on the key components, namely motivation, technical and tactical skill development, and career choices in the football context. Materials and methods. Forty-two young footballers playing both traditional football and football videogames took part in the study. Participants were administered an ad hoc questionnaire divided into three sections: sample identification, impact of eSports on aspirations and perspectives, and relationship between digital and traditional practice. Statistical analysis included Fisher’s exact test and Chi-square. Results. The results show that 57.1% of subjects reported an increase in motivation, especially in adolescence. Furthermore, 73.9% perceived an improvement in football-related cognitive skills, with a positive influence on actual performance (69%). Significant relationships were observed between hours spent playing videogames and the perceived enhancement in cognitive skills (p = .001), motivation (p = .032) as well as the influence on career choices of the latter (p = .010). Conclusions. It is clear from the study that football eSports offer a valuable support to the traditional sporting pathway by stimulating motivation and tactical skills. In addition, this sport of the digital generation can be integrated into the training of young footballers to foster their development and achievement.
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1993-7997
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series Physical Education Theory and Methodology
spelling doaj-art-26f463f84eb34cacb5fcfee8bf47fe462025-08-20T02:01:28ZengOVS LLCPhysical Education Theory and Methodology1993-79891993-79972025-05-0125310.17309/tmfv.2025.3.20From Pitch to Console: Exploring the Role of Football eSports in the Development of Young FootballersRosario Ceruso0Genoveffa De Cesare1Arben Kaçurri2Agron Kasa3Giampiero Merati4University of PegasoPegaso UniversitySports University of TiranaSports University of TiranaUniversity of InsubriaObjectives. The study aimed to analyse the impact of football eSports on the perceptions of young footballers, focusing on the key components, namely motivation, technical and tactical skill development, and career choices in the football context. Materials and methods. Forty-two young footballers playing both traditional football and football videogames took part in the study. Participants were administered an ad hoc questionnaire divided into three sections: sample identification, impact of eSports on aspirations and perspectives, and relationship between digital and traditional practice. Statistical analysis included Fisher’s exact test and Chi-square. Results. The results show that 57.1% of subjects reported an increase in motivation, especially in adolescence. Furthermore, 73.9% perceived an improvement in football-related cognitive skills, with a positive influence on actual performance (69%). Significant relationships were observed between hours spent playing videogames and the perceived enhancement in cognitive skills (p = .001), motivation (p = .032) as well as the influence on career choices of the latter (p = .010). Conclusions. It is clear from the study that football eSports offer a valuable support to the traditional sporting pathway by stimulating motivation and tactical skills. In addition, this sport of the digital generation can be integrated into the training of young footballers to foster their development and achievement. https://www.tmfv.com.ua/journal/article/view/3359cognitive skillsfootballvideogames questionnaire
spellingShingle Rosario Ceruso
Genoveffa De Cesare
Arben Kaçurri
Agron Kasa
Giampiero Merati
From Pitch to Console: Exploring the Role of Football eSports in the Development of Young Footballers
Physical Education Theory and Methodology
cognitive skills
football
videogames
questionnaire
title From Pitch to Console: Exploring the Role of Football eSports in the Development of Young Footballers
title_full From Pitch to Console: Exploring the Role of Football eSports in the Development of Young Footballers
title_fullStr From Pitch to Console: Exploring the Role of Football eSports in the Development of Young Footballers
title_full_unstemmed From Pitch to Console: Exploring the Role of Football eSports in the Development of Young Footballers
title_short From Pitch to Console: Exploring the Role of Football eSports in the Development of Young Footballers
title_sort from pitch to console exploring the role of football esports in the development of young footballers
topic cognitive skills
football
videogames
questionnaire
url https://www.tmfv.com.ua/journal/article/view/3359
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AT agronkasa frompitchtoconsoleexploringtheroleoffootballesportsinthedevelopmentofyoungfootballers
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