Investigation of the inhibiting factors of participation in recreational football (5X5) during the covid-19 period

Abstract Recreational football has established itself as a distinct market in the recreational sector with hundreds of facilities throughout Greece. Despite the excitement that this activity has brought to football fans (Boudolou, 2004) and the proven medical benefits it offers (Krustrup & Bangsbo, 2015), many potential participants do not participate in it. The purpose of this research was to investigate the inhibiting factors that prevent adults from participating in the activity of recreational football on small-sided fields (5X5) during the period of the coronavirus covid-19 pandemic. N= 112 adults from the regions of the Prefectures of Pella and Thessaloniki participated in the research. The Leisure Constraints Scale questionnaire (Alexandris & Carroll, 1997a) was used to measure the inhibiting factors and for the dimension: Covid-19 the questionnaire by Alexandris, Karagiorgos, Ntovoli, & Zourladani, (2021). For the intention to continue participation, the measuring instrument of Alexandris, Zahariadis, Tsorbatzoudis and Grouios (2004) was adopted. The results showed that the majority of the participants were male, single with Journal of Sport and Recreation Management. 2023, 20(2), 1-15 2 university education and self-employed. The most important inhibiting factor was the lack of time due to professional obligations (M.O. = 3.8) followed by insufficient and poor quality facilities (M.O. =3.4 and M.O. = 3.3 respectively), the lack of time due to family obligations (M.O. = 3.1), the lack of company (M.O. = 2.9) and the lack of friends to exercise with (M.O. = 2.9). The covid-19 pandemic-related inhibitory factors of fear of getting sick, reluctance to participate in team sports and reluctance to share sports equipment were not identified as significant by the participants (M.O. = 1.8 – M.O. = 1.9 and M.O. = 2 respectively). Based on the results, future investigation of the degree of commitment of students to the researched activity would be valuable.