Football Fitness - for the sake of one’s health? The perspectives of female players

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

The aim of the article is to understand the potential of football in health
initiatives for women – a topic relatively underrepresented in research.
Specifically, this article examines the case of ‘Football Fitness’, a new ‘sport for all’ programme carried out in associative sport clubs in Denmark. The article is based on six focus group interviews with white, middle-class female participants (N = 32, aged 27–56). The study shows that while health may have been the motivation for the women to join the programme, they emphasize the joy of playing football and the fellowship in the club as crucial for their participation. This programme has succeeded in making football more accessible and inclusive by reducing the focus on competencies and competition and changing the organisation to make it more flexible. The playful quest for excitement and social aspects of sport may hold great potential and be worth considering when developing health programmes in a democratic way.
Original languageEnglish
JournalQualitative Research in Sport, Exercise and Health
Volume12
Issue number1
Pages (from-to)63-75
Number of pages13
ISSN2159-676X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2020

    Research areas

  • Faculty of Science - Football fitness, Women, Health, Football, Quest for exitement

ID: 215361823