L'Importanza Socio/Economica Della Scolarizzazione Nei Settori Giovanili. Confronto Tra Il Modello Italiano E Quello Tedesco

The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the impact that schooling can have in a football academy. Particularly, the study attempted to (1) accurately understand how the school education can give further transfer market value to the team and the players, and (2) analyse the differences that can arise between two distinctive cultures within a football perspective like the German and Italian approach and their different viewpoints. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eleven participants, all of them were white European. Interview transcripts were analysed using an inductive approach to thematic analysis. The narratives produced four principal ways to understand the different aspects of the impact that schooling can have on football academies. When exploring the data for the change that school education can give to the youth players and to the teams, four thematic categories emerged. They were subsequently categorised into cognitive factors, relationship factors, value and resources, and social factors. Furthermore, it is explained how the expression of these factors vary from the German to Italian culture. Nevertheless, this is a new study that implies different sub-arguments due to the nature of school education of giving different skills. However, this theme does not have enough data available to define them and neither a wide narrative. It is suggested that an extension of study is needed in the next 10 years to develop a more contextually based understanding of school education in the football academies in Europe, however, the preliminary results this study provides may account for future research.