Team identification and soccer involvement as determinants of African Generation Y students Premier Soccer League team psychological commitment
Mofokeng, T.E.; Bevan-Dye, A.L.; De Klerk, N.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of soccer involvement and team
identification on African Generation Y students’ Premier Soccer League (PSL) team
psychological commitment in the South African context. In the South African market, the
African Generation Y cohort (individuals born between 1986 and 2005) represents a large yet
under-researched segment that in 2013 made up 32 percent of the country’s population.
Understanding the influence of soccer involvement and PSL team identification on PSL team
psychological commitment amongst African Generation Y members will help inform PSL team
marketing efforts targeted at this significantly sized segment. Those pursuing tertiary
qualifications are likely to be of particular interest to marketers, including sport marketers in that
a tertiary qualification is generally associated with a higher future earning potential as well as a
higher social standing in a community, making graduates likely current and future role models. A
descriptive research design was followed whereby data was collected using a self-administered
questionnaire from single cross-sectional convenience sample of students across three South
African public higher education institutions’ campuses situated in the Gauteng province. The
data set was analysed using exploratory principle component analysis and structural equation
modelling. The findings suggest that soccer involvement and PSL team identification have a
direct significant positive effect on African Generation Y students’ PSL team psychological
commitment.
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