The motivational factors at futsal: study held with children of a futsal social project in the municipality of Lindolfo Collor-RS

Abstract

The present study has analyzed the motivational factors which make children practice futsal in a social project in the municipality of Lindolfo Collor-RS, aiming at evaluating how ten-year-old children feel motivated during their introduction into Futsal, investigating what makes them look for and attend a futsal school, identifying which factors influence them to practice futsal and understanding how children are motivated by this sport. In order to make this study, a cross-sectional and descriptive quantitative approach was used. The sample was comprised of 16 male students aged 10 ± 0.34 who were taking part of a futsal social project in the city of Lindolfo Collor-RS. The Motivation Inventory for Sports (Gaya e Cardoso, 1998) was used as a measuring tool and included 19 questions, sub-divided into three categories: sport competence, health and friendship/leisure. In the present study, differences have been verified in the motivational factors connected to the practice of futsal. With that information in mind, as well as by seeing that the health category was the main reason why children practice futsal, while sport competence and friendship/leisure were the secondary reasons, we have come to the conclusion that the results for the mean and standard deviation were 2.77 ± 0.43 for the health category, 2.75 ± 0.51 for the sport competence category, and 2.7 ± 0.46 for the friendship category.