"ENSAM ÄR INTE STARK" En kvalitativ studie om fotbollsföreningen Gatans lag och tränarnas uppfattningar om spelares förändringsprocesser.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to contribute with knowledge about the change process for individuals living or have lived in a socially excluded position. More specifically, the aim is to examine the significance of Gatans lag in connection to change process from the perspective of the coaches. Gatans lag is a football club for the homeless and other socially excluded groups. This study is based on three individual interviews with coaches from Gatans lag. The number of interviews is limited due to the fact that there are only four teams of this kind in Sweden, one male and one female team in both Gothenburg and Stockholm. Our selection can therefore still be said to be relatively comprehensive in relation to what we want to investigate, as these three coaches meet most of the players we are ultimately interested in. The analysis of the interviews was done through thematic analysis. The analysis is based on Fuchs Ebaugh’s theory about role exit, specifically the exit process, and Bourdieu’s theory about social capital and habitus. Our findings are centered around three central themes: the organization's influence on the process of change, the physical aspects of Gatans lag on the process of change and the social aspects of Gatans lag on the process of change. The main findings of the study are that Gatans lag can be seen as a contributing factor to the players’ change process. Based on the three central themes we found that all themes could be seen as contributing to the players' change process, with the social aspect of Gatans lag being the most prominent contributor.