Exploring the lived experiences of Player welfare officers within elite football and rugby league environments.

Card, Caitlin

Abstract

Background
The rising concerns regarding the increase in mental health problems has compelled elite sport to consider the structures they have in place to support the complex needs of high-performing athletes. One outcome of this development has been a focus on creating player welfare officer (PWO) roles within elite environments (EFL, 2022; Rugby League Cares, 2022). The primary aim of this research is to investigate the lived experience of these practitioners and to identify the challenges they face on a daily basis.
Method
Using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling, a total of six full-time PWO’s were recruited from a professional football and rugby league background. Semi-structured interviews enabled participants to discuss the PWO role in detail (Smith & Sparkes, 2016). The interviews were individually transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2013; 2019; 2020).
Results
Three overarching themes were identified, which included mental health support and life skill preparation, the challenge of care in sport and the micro-politics of care. Overall, it was clear that PWO’s evidenced engrossment and empathy, when helping players during important career milestones (Noddings, 1988, 2003, 2005). However, the role presents a number of challenges including feelings of uncertainty regarding job expectations (Armour, 2011; Cronin & Armour, 2018; Dohnsten et al., 2020; Lewis et al., 2022). PWO’s implemented various strategies such as boundary setting, in attempt to deal with challenging workloads. PWO’s also attempted to create care webs with the intentions of developing a ‘climate of care’ that may encourage athletes to help-seek (Cronin, 2019; Lewis et al., 2022).
Conclusion
Unfortunately, it is clear that player care is underfunded, requires long hours of work, and is not widely accepted within elite environments. These challenges require PWO’s to employ a series of micro-political strategies to enhance or sustain their own position and to provide a web of care. The findings have implications for governing bodies of sport who value the provision of care.

Citation

Card, C. Exploring the lived experiences of Player welfare officers within elite football and rugby league environments. (Thesis). University of Hull. https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4742961

• Thesis Type: Thesis
• Deposit Date: Jul 24, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 31, 2024
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/4742961
• Additional Information: Department of Sport and Exercise Science; University of Hull
• Award Date: Jun 12, 2024