Co-designing football training: implications for players’ motivation and engagement

Providing practice environments that promote motivation and satisfaction represents a key challenge in football learning programmes. Approaches grounded in the complex systems perspective emphasise the exploration of movement solutions, yet decision-making regarding the process is typically retained by the coach, limiting players’ involvement to task execution. This study examined whether integrating co-design strategies within complex systems principles enhances motivation and satisfaction. Seventy-seven Sport Sciences students completed a complex systems-based training programme and were allocated to a standard (SG; n = 40) or a co-design group (CG; n = 37) following a quasi-experimental, non-randomised design using intact academic cohorts. Only the CG actively engaged in goal setting, session design and delivery, and self- and peer-assessment, structured through ASPIRE framework. Measures of Basic Psychological Needs (BPN) satisfaction, autonomous motivation, and satisfaction were collected pre- and post-intervention. Results showed significant Group × Time interactions for BPN satisfaction (ηp2 = .147), autonomous motivation (ηp2 = .072) and satisfaction (ηp2 = .158), with the CG improving in autonomy, competence, autonomous motivation, teaching, cognitive development and interaction with others, while the SG showed declines in autonomy and competence. Incorporating co-design strategies may be associated with more favourable motivational and satisfaction-related outcomes in university football education.