Individuals with disabilities in grassroots football clubs: volunteering and social capital

Scharfenkamp, Katrin ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3923-9735, Wicker, Pamela ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5818-8470 and Davies, Larissa E ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0591-7507 (2025) Individuals with disabilities in grassroots football clubs: volunteering and social capital. German Journal of Exercise and Sport Research. ISSN 2509-3142

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Abstract

Volunteering might be a leisure activity that supports the development of social capital of individuals with disabilities in organized sports. This study investigates the link between having a disability (i.e., physical, mental, or both), the likelihood and extent of volunteering, and the level of social capital in grassroots football clubs. We further examine a moderating effect of volunteering hours on the relationship between having a disability and social capital. Drawing on leisure constraints theory, individuals with disabilities are assumed to have a lower probability to volunteer than able-bodied individuals. Also, we hypothesize that individuals with disabilities perceive their social capital as lower than able-bodied individuals. Based on the motivational model, we assume that sport volunteers with disabilities perceive a higher social capital if they volunteer more hours. Data were collected via an online survey in seven European countries and targeted at adult volunteers and members in football clubs (n = 16,989 volunteers). Results of regressions show that having a physical disability is significantly negatively associated with the probability to volunteer in a football club. Further, having either a physical or mental disability is significantly negatively related to an individuals’ social capital level. The moderation analyses indicate that volunteers having both types of disabilities perceive a higher social capital if they volunteer more hours per month.