The Importance of Self-Confidence and Self-Efficacy in Football Players in Terms of Performance and Development
Chapter from the book:
Uluç,
E.
A.
&
Özgider,
C.
&
Yıldız,
M.
(eds.)
2025.
Sports Sciences Research 5.
Synopsis
Soccer players' self-confidence and self-efficacy are among the fundamental psychological variables that determine the continuity and quality of athletic performance. Self-efficacy refers to a player's belief that they can successfully apply their skills and is a critical factor that increases the likelihood of success at both the individual and team levels. Soccer players with high self-efficacy can confidently apply technical and tactical skills, maintain their decision-making skills under pressure, and generate effective solutions to challenges encountered during the game. Researchers have shown that self-confidence and self-efficacy in soccer players are supported by the development of mental skills, the application of self-talk techniques, and imagery strategies.
Self-confidence and self-efficacy also play a decisive role in the learning and application of new athletic techniques. High self-efficacy increases players' motivation for learning, directly contributing to the development of performance. Research in team sports has shown that players with high self-efficacy achieve significantly higher performance.
As a result, it can be stated that self-confidence and self-efficacy in football players play a very important role in terms of individual performance as well as the continuity of team success and increasing the quality of play.
