Brazilian women elite futsal players’ career development: diversified experiences and late sport specialization

Abstract

To investigate elite women sports career development can be a way to better understand how gender issues and specific women sport practice conditions have influenced athletes' life and personal experiences, also subside reflections on policies and pedagogic intervention on the sport. The aims of this study were to investigate and describe the process of sports career development lived by Brazilian women elite futsal players, based on their own sport experiences and perspectives on futsal. Methods: Data of this qualitative study were produced by semi-structured retrospective interviews with 13 Brazilian elite women futsal players. Data gathering and data analysis were based on the Grounded Theory method. Results: This section is organized in four axes, with their main categories in parenthesis: 1.Diversified experiences in childhood and youth (enjoyment related to diversified sport practices); 2.Initiation on 'kicking ball games' practices (experiences with football and futsal informal practices and suffering of prejudice related to gender issues); 3.Systematic participation in futsal practices (experiences in systematic futsal practices within older age groups); 4.The investment on elite futsal career (moving from football to futsal career). Conclusion: Interviewed players had their first sports experiences on a variety of practices during sport initiation in childhood. The beginning on systematic practice of futsal occurred later than men athletes. The lack of competitions for young girls, and the fact that futsal and other 'ball kicking games' are considered as men preserve practices contributed to the late sport specialization process. The athletes' career presented strong thresholds related to gender issues on futsal.

Dual career in Brazil: analysis on men elite futsal players’ academic degree (Carrera dual en Brasil: análisis sobre el nivel académico de los jugadores de futsal de élite)

“…The innovation and contribution from this study, besides to nurture reflections on the sport dual career topic, are also to highlight issues from a Southern Hemisphere country, in a socioeconomic development condition, with a high level of social inequality (Graeff, Gutierrez, Sardá, Bretherton, & Bettine, 2019;Knijnik, 2013), and prominent position on team sports such as futsal Mascarin et al, 2019). To study this Southern social scenario is very relevant within globalized world (Marques & Marchi Júnior, 2020;van der Meij & Darby, 2017), and something not yet so explored by academic international literature (Lago-Peñas, Lago-Peñas, & Lago, 2019).…”

“…Regarding to Brazilian sports context, futsal has about 20 million recreational players, 300,000 athletes registered in federations or formal sport institutions (Bello Junior, 2014), and it is the most practiced sport in schools (Voser & Giusti, 2015). Brazil is the main futsal world champion among men (seven times) and women (six titles), and has one of the main men professional futsal leagues worldwide -The Liga Nacional de Futsal (National Futsal League -LNF) (Mascarin, Vicentini, & Marques, 2019). In addition, there are other competitions at state, regional and micro-regional levels.…”

Migration for Work: Brazilian Futsal Players’ Labor Conditions and Disposition for Mobility

“…In addition, Brazil occupies a detachable competitive position in futsal, being the main all time men and women world champion (Mascarin et al, 2019). Together with Spain, Italy, and Russia, Brazil has one of the most important men's national leagues worldwide, the Liga Nacional de Futsal (LNF; National Futsal League), which included 19 clubs and around 360 players in the 2019 edition (LNF, 2019).…”

“…To analyze sport migration in a particular and specific context from the Southern hemisphere is innovative and relevant (Darby et al, 2007), especially in front of the prominence of South American countries in some team sports, as football (Leeds & Leeds, 2009) and futsal (Mascarin et al, 2019). Results from this study can be especially important because it offers a not much explored landscape, based on the data from a socioeconomically developing country (Rong, 2010) with a high level of social inequality, such as Brazil (Graeff et al, 2019;Knijnik, 2013), being part of the globalized world within its transnational and transcontinental market of sport (Lago-Peñas et al, 2019;Poli et al, 2017).…”

Tornar-se treinador: investigação sobre a trajetória e processos de aprendizagem de treinadores campeões da Liga Nacional de Futsal masculina

“…Logo, as condições sociais possibilitaram a apropriação de "produtos esportivos", na qual Miguel passou a desenvolver o gosto pelo futsal como parte constituinte de seu habitus, e viu sentido em participar desse campo, no qual foi percebido um importante vínculo com seu irmão, parecendo ter sido uma forte influência em seu envolvimento com futsal. Um ambiente esportivo propício atrelado a familiares envolvidos com a prática esportiva pode possibilitar certa familiarização com tal contexto, reforçando o sentido em participar e atuar neste campo (JANUÁRIO, 2017;MARQUES et al, 2018;JANUÁRIO;MORBI;MARQUES, 2019). A herança cultural familiar se mostra com nitidez na trajetória de Miguel, de modo que a prática na qual seu irmão estava envolvido não só possibilitou o despertar do sentido naquele ambiente, como também promoveu que Miguel estivesse em ação dentro deste contexto.…”