Extended Abstract
Background and Purpose
Scientific data and international experiences suggest that the development and promotion of football, as well as the attainment of prestigious global standings, are greatly facilitated through scientific training and managerial support for youth football, alongside the establishment of youth football academies by clubs (Bahadori, 2023). The nurturing of talent is identified as a critical action that can significantly enhance the level of professional football (Kelly, 2018). In Iran, despite the proliferation of football academies in recent years, it is observed that a limited number of young players are successfully recruited by clubs and subsequently make the transition into the professional football arena. This phenomenon may be directly related to the methodologies and approaches employed in talent development within football academies. Talent development represents a crucial missing link in Iranian football; if properly addressed within youth academies, it could optimize the utilization of existing talents, reduce operational costs for clubs, and enhance the clubs' popularity among fans and stakeholders. Given the importance of this topic and the existing research gap in the Iranian context, the current study seeks to identify the mental models of experts regarding the factors that influence youth football talent development in Iran, with the aim of providing a clearer roadmap for clubs, coaches, and policymakers.
Methods
This research is applied in nature and situates itself within the domain of exploratory studies. Employing the Q method as its primary analytical framework, it is classified as mixed-methods research, combining both qualitative and quantitative approaches. The study was conducted in eight sequential stages: 1) Reviewing the literature on the subject, identifying and selecting relevant articles, collecting the discourse space, and extracting key factors and issues; 2) Interviewing and surveying experts in the field; 3) Evaluating and summarizing the discourse space; 4) Selecting the final Q statements (Q cards); 5) Creating Q categories based on the statements; 6) Selecting participants from among specialists and experts; 7) Sorting Q samples in the Q diagram; 8) Analyzing the data statistically using Q factor analysis. The statistical population for this research included all veterans in the field of football, instructors, leading talent scouts, sports management specialists, and researchers working in football talent identification and development. The sample size and sampling method can be categorized into two distinct levels: the first level encompasses all veterans in football and football instructors, totaling 11 individuals who were selected through purposive sampling for in-depth interviews. The second level includes top talent scouts from the Football Federation and researchers specializing in talent identification and development, comprising 25 individuals who were selected through purposive and snowball sampling methods. The research instruments were divided into two sections based on the data collection method: the first section comprised semi-structured interviews designed to identify factors contributing to the development of youth football, while the second section involved the Q cards for sorting and ranking. The validity of all checklists utilized in the qualitative section of the research was assessed through both face validity and content validity methods. To this end, the diagrams related to the Q methodology and the interview checklists were validated by five experts in sports management who had familiarity with the realm of sports clubs and youth development. To evaluate the reliability of the diagrams and Q cards, the inter-rater reliability method was employed, with four raters tasked with completing the diagram independently. The resulting correlation coefficient of 0.83 indicates a satisfactory and acceptable level of reliability among the raters.
Results
After conducting interviews and identifying the factors related to talent development in youth football, Q-methodology cards were carefully designed and distributed to the participants. The participants included 16 football scouts from various provinces, such as Tehran, Razavi Khorasan, Fars, Hamadan, and Mazandaran, as well as four heads of the youth committee of football associations from the provinces of Tehran, Razavi Khorasan, Mazandaran, and Fars, and five researchers specializing in youth football development. The findings obtained from the Q-factor analysis revealed that the most significant factors for talent development in youth football were categorized into five distinct mental models: technical-oriented, educational-oriented, experiential-oriented, developmental-oriented, and equipment-oriented, which collectively accounted for approximately 71.22% of the total variance observed in the data. Specialized training exercises, collaboration with elite players, engagement with distinguished coaches, exposure to challenging training conditions, and experiences in diverse training environments constitute the key components of a technical-oriented mindset. This approach also involves increasing training hours and sessions, maintaining standard locations and consistent times for training, imparting individual skills and techniques, implementing competition-simulating exercises, and offering both practical and theoretical training specifically designed to enhance mental development, team skills, and tactical understanding among young players. In terms of an education-oriented mindset, relevant factors include promoting a healthy lifestyle, educating participants on scientific principles of fitness, nutrition, and training science, teaching psychological skills pertinent to football, imparting communication skills, instilling ethical and behavioral principles, providing education on self-management skills, offering legal guidance to football learners, and utilizing virtual and online training platforms. The experience-oriented mindset is distinguished by active participation in tournaments, as well as involvement in both national and international experiences, attendance at sports camps, and opportunities for engagement in national youth team trials and selections. Development-oriented factors include the provision of adequate counseling and guidance for players, strategic planning aimed at optimizing leisure time, the preparation of professional resumes pertinent to the field of football, the identification and correction of musculoskeletal abnormalities, the execution of detailed analyses of training sessions and matches, engagement in the football transfer cycle, the provision of invisible training (home training) for learners, implementation of injury prevention strategies, the preparation of comprehensive demographic, familial, and technical profiles for each player, and the promotion of players' professional character and conduct. Finally, the equipment-oriented mindset is defined by the availability of modern educational aids, training devices, and high-quality equipment for players to use in their daily development.
Conclusion
Based on the factors delineated in the technical mindset model, it is imperative to prioritize issues related to the quantity and quality of training in youth football, as technical proficiency remains the cornerstone of player development. The educational mindset model underscores the importance of training methodologies for young footballers and clearly identifies the key aspects that should be emphasized in their holistic development. According to the experiential mindset model, it is crucial for emerging talents to cultivate the ability to maintain their performance under challenging conditions through regular participation in tournaments, both national and international experiences, sports camps, and opportunities to try out for national youth teams, all in conjunction with their overall development pathway. The developmental mindset model posits that young footballers should receive supportive guidance, consistent counseling, and scientific planning to enhance their talents and abilities across all personal dimensions, including psychological and social aspects. Finally, in alignment with the equipment mindset model, it is strongly recommended that clubs and the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran undertake concrete initiatives to foster talent development by providing modern educational football facilities and high-quality equipment for players. Collectively, these five mental models offer a comprehensive framework for understanding and improving youth football talent development in Iran, addressing gaps that have previously hindered the transition of young players into professional football.
Article Message
This study identifies the five core mental models that experts believe are essential for effective talent development: technical, educational, experiential, developmental, and equipment-oriented approaches. The key finding is that success requires a holistic, multi-dimensional strategy. It is not enough to focus solely on technical skills (e.g., specialized drills, elite coaching). True development must be integrated with scientific education (e.g., nutrition, psychology), competitive experiences (e.g., national tournaments, camps), personalized player support (e.g., counseling, injury prevention), and the provision of modern facilities.
Ethical Considerations
All research was conducted adhering stringently to established ethical protocols. Participant informed consent was obtained prior to data collection, and data confidentiality together with respondent anonymity were strictly maintained throughout the study. Researchers upheld participant rights and dignity at all times, following established standards of research ethics.
Authors' Contributions
Conceptualization: Ali Benesbordi
Data Collection: Mojgan Ghasemi nia
Data Analysis: Kianoosh Shajie
Manuscript Writing: Mojgan Ghasemi nia
Review and Editing: Ali Benesbordi
Responsible for funding: Ali Benesbordi
Literature Review: Mojgan Ghasemi nia
Project Manager: Ali Benesbordi
Any other Contributions: Full team involvement in theoretical guidance and scientific consultation.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to all those who participated in this research for sharing their valuable insights and experiences, which greatly enriched the findings of this study.