Sports psychologist Adele Muscat plans to embark on an educational campaign aimed at raising awareness about the issues faced by Maltese sportsmen who wish to pursue a professional career overseas.
One of the most important conclusions to emerge from her study is that, as a nation, we are still very much mummies’ boys, the football players have told Muscat.
“This factor was a common denominator in the study as at least seven of 12 players interviewed spoke about their cooking, cleaning and other difficulties when they were living on their own,” Muscat told Times of Malta.
“What I’m trying to say is that if the Maltese parents learn to allow their children more independence, it will help them a lot when they grow up.”
Muscat is now sharing the findings of her study with the young players and parents of the youngsters who are part of the Malta FA Academy and a number of nurseries.
“The next step for me is to present this information to the parents of the young players who are enrolled in the MFA Academy and other nurseries as well as the head coaches of the country’s leading nurseries and those of the Malta FA,” Muscat said.
“My idea is to encourage them to give me their feedback on how we should address these issues and come up with an action plan.
“Only a few weeks ago, Robert Gatt (MFA technical director) told me that we need to see what we can do to prepare our players better for the challenge of playing overseas.
“What this study shows is that the Maltese culture has a tremendous effect on the attitudes of our football players.
“I hope that these findings serve as an eye-opener.
“I also believe that, because of these cultural traits, we don’t have enough leaders on the football pitch.
“We are not encouraging our children to be independent. Many parents even carry their children’s schoolbags and when providing transport to school and private lessons... if possible, they drop them on the doorstep.
“How can our children develop leadership skills and decision-making skills if their parents do everything for them?
The clubs also have an important role to play.
“Clubs need to be educated about these matters,” Muscat said. “They must establish guidelines on how to improve their players’ leadership qualities. Furthermore, clubs also need to set out rules to control the behaviour of parents.”
Muscat, who is undertaking her PhD degree at the Liverpool John Moores University under the Malta Sports Scholarship Scheme, said past research on the migratory experiences of elite footballers in different countries had revealed some common factors but the challenges faced by Maltese players stand out from the rest.
Her paper has been endorsed by Molde University in Norway, where Muscat delivered an oral presentation last October, and is to be presented at The International Conference of Qualitative Research in Sport and Exercise at Loughborough University, and the European College of Sports Science Conference in Amsterdam.
Muscat expressed her gratitude to all the players who were willing to take part in this study. “Their co-operation will go some way towards helping up-and-coming youngsters prepare themselves better for the challenge of playing and living abroad,” Muscat said.