Exploring perceptions on how Virtual Reality (VR) could serve as an alternative tool for football players to engage in self-development

This research explored the perceptions of football players and practitioners regarding the use of Virtual Reality (VR) as a tool for self-development within the sport, having the potential to improve well-being. Footballers undergo a range of normative and non-normative transitions throughout their careers, possibly negatively impacting well-being and performance. Engaging in self-development can help overcome these challenging periods more effectively via improved self-awareness and self-esteem. However, the literature suggests that engaging in self-development might not be utilised to its full potential as there seems to be a hesitation to talk openly about ways to improve oneself (beyond physical performance) and a stigma around help-seeking behaviour. VR could be a powerful way to help tackle these challenges, given that it can create experiences that captivate and engage users in ways that surpass traditional means. The focus of VR in football has surrounded its efficacy as a tool to improve physical performance. To date, there is no research on VR as a tool for self-development in football. As a result, this PhD aimed to contribute to knowledge by exploring the use of VR as a tool for self-development in football.

Given that using VR as a tool for self-development in football was an unexplored area, this research took an exploratory stance. As such, the thesis was underpinned by a pragmatic research philosophy as it is not bound by a single philosophical stance and offered flexibility to address the research phenomenon most effectively. Therefore, a mixed-method approach was utilised, avoiding strict subjectivity or objectivity to facilitate a deeper exploration of the phenomenon. The quantitative aspect was underpinned by survey research to help capture general perceptions of the phenomenon, whereas the qualitative studies utilised a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. This helped provide more in-depth insights by providing a middle ground between a description and interpretation from which to explore perceptions both football players and practitioners had towards using VR as a tool for self-development in football. To address any disparities between the quantitative and qualitative data, this research adopted a convergent approach, whereby data was collected concurrently, analysed separately, and then merged.

Three essential themes were derived from this research: ‘A call for action’, ‘While there is promise, it won’t be for everyone’, and ‘Bridging the gap: Gimmick to something of value’. In the main, football players want more support and feel like the effectiveness of receiving support and the delivery methods by which they are provided support need improvement. Players and practitioners responded well to using a VR prototype designed to help support with self-development, and they felt the concept had promise. However, some still struggled to understand how the concept would work. Moreover, the perception was that not everyone in the sport would be willing to use it. Practitioners, in particular, felt the concept would be best positioned at academy levels, given the familiarity players at this level have with technology. Future research is suggested to focus on the efficacy of VR as a tool for self-development.