Sports Life Skills Among Professional Soccer Players in Palestine

Abstract

Background: Understanding how competitive sport fosters transferable life skills is essential for advancing athlete development frameworks. Despite growing international interest, evidence from professional soccer contexts remains limited, particularly within underrepresented regions.

Objectives: This study examined the level of sport-derived life skills among professional soccer players competing in Palestine and explored differences according to type of professionalism and players playing position variables.

Method: A descriptive-analytical research design was adopted. Data was collected using the Sports Life Skills Scale, which consists of 41 items distributed across eight domains: teamwork, goal setting, time management, emotional skills, interpersonal communication, social skills, leadership, and problem-solving and decision-making. The study included a sample of 257 soccer players from both the full-professional and semi-professional categories. Participants were selected using stratified random sampling, representing approximately 40% of the total number of players. After data collection, statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS software (version 31). The analysis included descriptive statistics and relative weights, as well as inferential procedures such as independent samples t-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). To analyze the differences between groups in greater depth, effect sizes were calculated using Cohen's coefficient (d) and eta-squared (η²), and post-hoc least significant difference (LSD) tests were applied where appropriate.

Results: The results revealed that professional soccer players in Palestine possess a very high level of sports-life skills. Statistically significant differences were observed according to professional type, in favor of full-professional players compared with semi-professional players. Furthermore, players’ playing position was found to be a significant factor, with outfield players scoring higher in sports-life skills than goalkeepers. These findings support the conceptualization of professional sport as a powerful developmental environment extending beyond physical performance

Conclusions: Integrating structured skills-building opportunities into sports environments provides an effective pathway to fostering holistic personal development, equipping athletes with competencies that enhance on-field performance and support broader personal and social growth