Migrations impact on the Coaching Philosophies of Professional Portuguese High-Performance Football Coaches

Abstract

This study's central purpose was to ascertain the impact generated and influenced on the Coaching Philosophies of professional Portuguese football trainers who migrated outside of Portugal. The inspiration and necessity for this exploratory experiment were based on the lack of investigations and discussions on similar topics within High-Performance sport. Further, given that many professional Portuguese football actors formerly trained and are currently working abroad, exposing their motivations and experiences could benefit prospective football trainers-the sample size comprised of three male professional football coaches (n=3). Participants worked in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The average age was 43.33 (±12.66) years old, with an average 16.66 (±11.01) years of coaching experience. Further, there was an average 3.83 (±2.92) years of working abroad for the participants. Moreover, trainers performed different roles throughout their coaching careers, with some performing multiple tasks while working abroad. The data was collected through three individual interviews conducted in Portuguese: two performed face to face and one through an online video calling platform. Two interviews were audio-recorded, while one was audio and video recorded. Data analysis was performed firstly through NVivo to generate thematic codes and groups. Further, to provide some visual representations of common themes and keywords. Demographic responses were interpreted through IBM SPSS. The results demonstrated that the importance and articulation of Coaching Philosophies contrasted based on the years of coaching and lived experiences. Crucially, although these constructs evolve, certain aspects remain ingrained. Moreover, such transformations to a Coaching Philosophy may be undertaken without migrating. However, for coaches who are respectful of diverse cultures and passionate about international engagements, such excursions abroad not only benefit a trainer's career but transcend sport.