A Survey of the Vision of Future the Members of the Football Academies have at the Academies in the Capital City and in the Provinces

Although research into various dimensions of Hungarian football academies has become more intensive over the recent years, there is still a wide range of questions and problems to be addressed, most of which can be identified in the educational-pedagogical dimensions of the academies. Our present research concentrates on the players of 3 academies in the provinces and 3 in the capital city (N=560). As a method of the research, we opted to use an inventory to collect the answers of the players (Rábai, 2021). We interviewed them about the way they imagine their future and their responses were, at each question, analysed in a comparison of the provinces and the capital. We assumed that there were considerable differences between the two groups, based upon the review and findings of the relevant literature. We found significant differences between the answers of the players of the two groups of academies, primarily in the aspirations to achieve vocational qualifications (p=0,039), the students’ views about their prospects of a professional career (p=0,000) and a career abroad (p=0,047) (Rábai, 2021). Our findings suggest that the majority of the young football players we contacted have a largely positive vision of their future. It especially applies to the students of academies in the capital city. In a number of their responses, students in the capital city provided answers that were highly confident.


Introduction
Research into football academies is becoming an increasingly popular scientific activity, as is aptly demonstrated by the wide variety of analyses that has been published in the area. It is, however, necessary to point out that the situation in Hungary is largely different from the situations we may find in several other countries. The financing system of the institutions, as well as the circumstances under which the academies were established, is different from that of their foreign counterparts (Rábai, 2019a). It is therefore obvious that the relevance of foreign literature to us is limited.
In our present survey we target the aspirations of the members of the football academies, how likely they see themselves obtaining various qualifications in the future, and what plans they may have regarding a career abroad. The main aspect of our examinations was a comparison of the answers provided by the football academy members in the provinces and in the capital city.
Our specific research questions included those aimed at surveying the aspirations of the players to achieve various qualifications (vocational certificate, secondary school certificate, or academic degree). Furthermore, we wished to find out whether the young players wanted to play abroad in the future and, if yes, what their motivations were.
In this subchapter, we focus on the major points of some of the publications that concentrate on the career plans, visions of the future and, where relevant, the academic career of young athletes. We also present some of our previous findings, in addition to highlighting some of the international and domestic literature. As part of a research project, Bourke (2002) discusses the career paths of Irish footballers who played in various English clubs in the period 1984 to 1999. The primary objective of the was to find out about the motivations of why many young Irish players decide to become professional players. Bourke's conclusion was that most young players are motivated by the love of football and the high revenues they are able to achieve as professional players. The research also revealed that several young players reached professional status through alternative paths and detours. The findings of one of our earlier research projects (Rábai, 2019b) are partially different from those of Bourke (2002). In our research, we studied the motivations of young players for a foreign career. Contrary to our preliminary assumptions, only a fragment of the respondents identified high income as the primary motivation of going abroad. The majority would like to go to another country in order to continue developing professionally. All through the related literature, higher income and professional advancement appear as the major factors of motivation. Young members of the football academies may see a lot of examples from the entire world, as a lot of young players, very often at a similar age, earn a lot of money as members of famous clubs. This brings up another question; how they see it at home, in their own clubs or academies, when they are often given little or no chance to play. Adams and Carr (2017), in their research into the social connections of the young members of the academies, concluded that the footballers are rarely able to establish strong, friendly ties with other players at their respective academy. Their relationships are therefore largely devoid of trust and emotional intimacy. On the other hand, in the British professional football training, for instance, there is an emphasis on the relationship between the players and their parents, as a positive connection here supports the psycho-social environment of the footballers (Mills et al., 2014). In the course of one of our former, relevant projects (Rábai, 2019c) we asked the young members of the academies what had motivated them to join the academy. Parental encouragement as a decisive reason was negligible among the answers. Close to 89% of the sample declared that learning at one of the academies had been their own decision, so the parental background had not considerably influenced their choice of career. This observation is underpinned by the answers we received from the coaches (Rábai, 2020), who believed that parental intentions in themselves were not sufficient to shape the professional career of a player. The individual determination and decision of the young player are required to start a career at an academy. Gagne's model (1999) is, however, in a complete opposition to the results mentioned above. He depicts the influence of the parents on the professional career of a talented child to be strong enough to promote or impede that career (Bicsérdy, 2002;Orosz, 2009;Hamvai et al., 2009;Csíkszentmihályi et al., 2010). It is important to note, however, that neither the players, nor the parents, may be certain in advance whether the child will really become a professional player one day, and that uncertainty is a strong hindering factor (Crane, 2018;Harwood et al., 2010) (Rábai, 2019b).
In connection with the uncertain vision of the future of the young players it is worth mentioning the research of Oross (2013) who, because of his project conducted within the framework of the 2012 Ifjúságkutatás [the Hungarian Youth] research program, found that the uncertainty of the future is the most depressing factor for the young people interviewed. Czibere (2012) points out that most young people do not have any specific plan regarding their future, and are characterized by a high degree of uncertainty. Havran and András (2018), based on their own research, came to the opposite conclusion. They examined young footballers who intended to start a professional career. One of their research findings was that the players had a higher opinion of themselves (and of their teammates) than the reality suggested by the statistics. Another interesting observation is that though the players believe that they need extra training for their further development, neither they themselves nor their club are willing to invest any extra effort in that regard. Bicsérdy (2002) examined individuals across elementary school, secondary school, and university in connection with competitive sports. One of the results found was that many elementary school pupils (similarly to the players in the football academies) had no intention to reach the top categories in their respective sport in the future.
Another dimension of our research deals with the potential future school career of the players of the academies. Kanczler and Kovács (2012) concluded that school and learning have a major influence on the turning points of the life of a child (choice of a school, leaving infant school behind, going to secondary school, and entrance examination to a university). It is therefore indispensable for a young athlete to bring sport and learning into an optimal harmony. The authors emphasize the role of the family as a solid background that must always support their children and cooperate with them to achieve success. Földesiné (1984) conducted research in the subject with Olympic participants, finding that a number of athletes quit competitive sports because of injuries, family reasons, or disagreements with their coaches. An interesting figure is that one quarter of the respondents identified learning as a reason of giving up sport. Hungarian swimmers were in the focus of Egressy's (2004) survey that examined their chances of starting higher education. Egressy demonstrated that the family (primarily of a higher cultural status) plays an important role in choosing swimming as a sport for their children, but they rarely encourage the children to continue competitive swimming when they have grown up. Interestingly, swimming is a sport popularly pursued in the early teens, but as the value of learning and the burdens of school increase, the athlete usually chooses another sport when they enter secondary school. When a new sport is selected, it is often a competitive sport (as opposed to a hobby sport) that is less strenuous for the student and can be brought into harmony with academics more easily (Egressy, 2004). Returning to the world of football, Vincze (2008) observed that Károly Sándor Football Academy of Agárd offers its students the chance to acquire a secondary school certificate, so the students could choose an alternative career in case they do not wish to become professional players after all. Vincze's (2008) research is well complemented by one of our earlier findings in connection with Károly Sándor Academy, as they offer alternative opportunities for those who do not intend to pursue a professional career. To achieve this, the academy collaborates with partner secondary schools (Rábai, 2018a). Similarly, in the course of an earlier project, we found that the players believed that a successful football career largely depended upon luck and the avoidance of injuries (Rábai, 2016).
We conclude that the major motivating factor for young people is the financial advantages attainable through sports and, at the same time, they are often characterized by a high degree of uncertainty. Parents may also have an important influence on the decisions of young athletes. Furthermore, an important conclusion found in the international literature is that studies must always be harmonized with sports, and that parents play an important role.
Our preliminary hypothesis, based upon the related literature and our own preliminary research findings, was that though the players at both the academies in the provinces and in the capital city have a chance of obtaining secondary school certificate, those in the capital city have a better chance of entering into higher education (Egressy, 2004;Lannert, 2004;Vincze, 2008;Kanczler et al., 2012;Hermann et al., 2012;Kovách, 2012;Bihari, 2019;Fenyő et al., 2020). As for a professional career, the players of the academies in the capital city are more confident than those in the provinces (Kovách, 2012;Bihari, 2019;Gősi et al., 2017;Platts, 2012;Sagar et al., 2010;Mills et al., 2012;Crane, 2018;Harwood et al., 2010;Rábai, 2018b). In connection with a foreign career, we assumed that the large majority of the young footballers entertain plans for playing abroad, and in that respect there was not a considerable difference between the two groups of academies. We also hypothesized that the respondents were going to identify the higher income for a motivation of playing abroad at all the academies (Bourke, 2002;Magyar Ifjúság, 2012;Ifjúságkutatások, 2016;Tóth et al., 2017;Rábai, 2019bRábai, , 2021.

Research design and Methods
For our research, we relied on the questionnaire/inventory method to collect answers from a total of 560 players across six football academies. Three academies from the capital (N=251) and three from the provinces (N=309) were involved in the research in an even distribution. In selecting the institutions, we did not aim to achieve representativeness, but to interview as many players as possible from the academies. The age of the respondents was between 11 and 19 years. The age distribution was random, as we were able to interview students who were present at the bases when we visited them. We therefore did not attempt to select by age. We carried out the data collection at each of the six academies personally, and the answers were collected on paper. During our visits, we tried to ask all available students and were assisted in the data collection by the heads and coaches of the institutions, who helped us to interview the young people after prior consultation. The data gathered at the bases of replacement were uploaded into a database that we used to analyze the vision the young footballers shared (Rábai, 2021). For data processing, SPSS software was used. At the statistical analysis a significance level of p<0,05 was regarded as a guideline, and we conducted bi-variable analysis to look for correlations using cross-tabulations.

Results
Our first question asked the players of the about their ideas regarding the specific qualifications they might acquire, with special attention to the vocational qualifications (Chart 1): Chart 1. Interrelation between the geographical location of the academies (the capital and the provinces) and the ideas of the students regarding their chances of obtaining a vocational qualification (dichotomic dependent variable) (N=544) A high proportion of the respondents (N=544) to this question state that there is little (31%) or no chance (31%) at all for them to learn a trade and to acquire a vocational degree (Chart 1). A significant difference (p=0,039) was detected between the academies in the capital and those in the provinces, as 25% of the players in the capital found no chance of obtaining a vocational degree, whereas the proportion was 37% in the provinces. In the provinces, 20% of the players see a relatively high chance of obtaining a qualification, whereas 24% of the students in the capital believe that there is a high chance. Hermann and Varga (2012) found that, in accordance with our results, the number of those who completed an industrial/vocational school increased in the period between 2000 and 2010. Since 2010, however, the figure has declined, particularly as a result of the general demographical decline in the country. In accordance with the data above, we see that the players of the academies do not plan to earn a vocational/industrial qualification in the future. It applies to the students of the academies in the provinces to a higher extent. According to the findings of Kovách (2012) the likelihood of entering higher education for the players in the academies in the provinces are marred by the fact that two thirds of them choose industrial schools. Kovách' results (2012) do not match ours, (2012), since we have found that the students in the provinces see smaller chances of obtaining a vocational qualification in the future. Vincze (2008) mentions that Sándor Károly Football Academy offers its students the chance of obtaining the secondary school certificate. A similar observation was made by Rábai and Fenyő (2020), when they interviewed the head of the education department of a football academy, who talked about preparing the young players for the certificate of secondary education. The major goal is to provide the players with knowledge that will be usable later when the most talented go on to higher education (Rábai, 2021).

Judging the chance of acquiring a vocational qualification
68% of the individuals in our sample can see every chance of obtaining a secondary school certificate later on, the second largest segment (28%) see relatively high chances. Negligible is the proportion of those who see relatively small (3%) or no (1%) chance at all. Most of the young players, therefore, see a fair chance to acquire the certificate of secondary education in the future, and there are no considerable differences between the respondents in the capital city and the provinces (Chart 2).
Our results are supported by the data provided by Hermann and Varga (2012) and Lannert (2004). Hermann and Varga (2012) observed that the number and proportion of those sitting for a certificate of secondary education continually increased between 2000 and 2020. The rate of increase was slightly lower in the period between 2010 and 2020. Lannert (2004) adds that the sudden increase in the number of those seeking secondary degree began in the second half of the 1980s. In other words, between 1985 and 1990 the number of students continuing their studies in a secondary grammar school increased from 60,000 to 80,000. The figure has hardly changed, more precisely stagnated, since the 1990s. Our next question dealt with the ideas of the young footballers regarding their chances of going on to higher education (Chart 3). Lannert (2004) pointed out that the expansion of higher education started in the second half of the 1990s, when an explosion-like increase in the number of students took place. From 1999 to 2002, the number of students in the age group 18-22 admitted into colleges and universities tripled (Lannert, 2004). Polónyi (2012) pointed out, however, that increase stopped between 2005 and 2008, and it was followed by a radical decrease in the number of new students. Bihari (2019) quotes the data of the micro-census of 2016, according to which 61% of the employees had a secondary qualification, whereas 25% had an advanced academic degree.
Although a large part of the present sample (43 %) believe that they have a fair chance of earning an academic degree, there is still uncertainty that permeates the entire population of the academies. 29% of them think that they have relatively little chance, while 7% of them think that they have no chance at all, for further education. Kovách (2012) believes that the likelihood of those young people living in villages further diminishes, as they are lagging to a larger extent. Still, we do not find a significant difference between the answers provided by the students of the academies in the capital city and those in the provinces.
Young people begin to prepare for a professional career at an early age, and they often do not have an alternative idea regarding their future. In an earlier research we interviewed coaches (Rábai, 2020) who told us that they made efforts to set realistic objectives for each student, and the fact that not every one of them was going to be a professional player was always emphasized, as well as that studying was even more important than sports. They must, therefore, think of the years following the academy (Aquilina, 2013;Madarász, 2017;Faragó et al., 2018;Oláh et al., 2018;Rábai, 2018bRábai, , 2021). An analysis of the educational-pedagogical programs of the academies do not support the conclusions mentioned by the coaches (Rábai, 2021). The documents we examined are of heterogeneous quality and often incomplete, and there are no elements, strategies, or development plans present that point towards higher education .
We also wished to find out whether the young footballers believed that they had any realistic chances of becoming professional players: There is relatively high chance (%) 36 32 There is some chance (%) 34 24 There is little chance (%) 4 1 There is no chance at all (%) 0 1 Total (%) 100 100 Total (individuals) 303 248 p = 0,000 Source: from the author's own research Bicsérdy (2002) points out that most of the schoolboys she interviewed had taken up football because they hoped to become top players one day. In Berki and Pikó's (2018) findings, we read that commitment to sport and the personal plans for the future show a lot more progressive image than what we find among athletes pursuing individual sports. The results of the 2016 Ifjúságkutatás [Youth research] (Ifjúságkutatás, 2016) also suggest, however, that students are the most dissatisfied with their future prospects (in addition to their financial situation and employment opportunities).
As it is seen from the analysis in Chart 4, the largest proportion of the students (35%) believe that they have a good chance of becoming professional players, and the proportion of those who believe that they are guaranteed to go pro is only slightly smaller (33 %). Those who believe that they have some chance amount to 29% of the sample. All in all, the young players see their future in connection with football positively. Another interesting result in Chart 4 is that a significant difference (p=0,000) is detected between the answers of the players in the capital and those from the provinces. It is clear that the students in the capital are a lot more confident about their future professional career than their counterparts in the provinces. Nearly half (42%) believe that they have every opportunity to become professional players in the future, and another 33% think that they have a fairly good chance. Those in the provinces are much less confident in the issue, as a mere 26% of them believe that they have every chance, and 36% of them think there is a relative chance. The major contrast is that 34% students in the provinces see little chance and 4% of them do not really see any chance of a professional career. The question arises, what causes this big difference between provinces and capital? (Rábai, 2021) According to the related literature we have had the opportunity to process, individuals who do sports regularly, in general have a more positive vision of their future than those who do not do any sport (Lőkös et al., 2018). Young people in the countryside usually have a negative vision of their future, as reflected by a number of research projects (e. g. Kovách, 2012;Bihari, 2019). The players of the academies interviewed in those research projects identified playing in the first division as their primary objective, and 24% of them would be satisfied. Our own research suggests that the players in the capital city are more confident in that respect as well. The difference between the students of the academies in the capital and those in the provinces was found to be significant (p=0,001), as the students in the capital are more confident in having a real opportunity to start a professional career (Rábai, 2018b(Rábai, , 2021. A research project conducted as a follow-up (Rábai, 2019b) showed more heterogeneous results. The difference between the capital and the countryside was still considerable (p=0,002), but there were also large differences between two of the academies in the provinces. It may be explained by the larger market that makes the footballers in the capital more confident about their future. There are several academies in Budapest, relatively close to each other, and some of those are linked to clubs in the first division. In this way, the young players in the academies have a good chance of starting a career in a top club. In the countryside, there might be only one or two academies near their hometown, and they may feel that their opportunities are more limited. It is to be pointed out that not every young footballer in the academies will become a professional player, and it levies a heavy mental burden on them. A career abroad, or playing at a foreign football academy, is also popular among the young footballers. As such, we intended to find out whether they planned to go abroad to play, and if they did, what they motivations were. Knowing the world, becoming independent (%) 10 8 Learning a language (%) 8 5 Other ( The intentions and motivation of the players regarding their willingness to start a foreign career are summarized in Charts 5 and 6. As it is seen in the charts, the vast majority, 94% of the young footballers would like to play abroad, and only 6% rejected the idea. The majority of the students of both the academies in the provinces and in the capital city entertain ideas of going abroad, but even more of those in the capital city (96%), and to a somewhat smaller extent those in the academies in the countryside (92%). There is a significant difference (p=0,047) between the two academy groups (Rábai, 2021).
Our recent findings correspond to our earlier results (Rábai, 2019b), as the players of the academies interviewed in our earlier project indicated that they intended to go abroad to play, and those in the capital city expressed it in a higher number than their counterparts in the provinces. When interpreting the capitalcountryside differences, it is worth taking into account the results of the Ifjúságkutatás [Youth research] projects. There appear to be a considerable difference in the intentions of going abroad between the capital and the provinces in the 2012 survey (Magyar Ifjúság, [Hungarian Youth] 2012). The data show that the highest number of young people who do not intend to go abroad (39%) is found in Budapest, and 40% of them only contemplate the idea. As opposed to this, 60% of the young people who live in county towns seriously consider the possibility of going abroad in the future, and the respective figure is 52-53% in the smaller towns and villages. The relevant data of the 2016 Ifjúságkutatás (Ifjúságkutatás [Youth Research 2016) show that those who wish to go abroad are typically between 20-24 years old, live in county towns and villages, and attend vocational/industrial schools. A high proportion (40,5%) of the academy players interviewed in Tóth and Dóczi's (2017) research responded that their major aspiration was finding a place in one of the top championships abroad.
As for the possible motivations, we offered students several options and asked them to choose one. Chart 6 suggests that there are no major differences between the two academy categories, as the students marked the answers in approximately the same numbers. The highest number of the players (48%) indicated professional development as the major motivation of going abroad, followed by a high income (20%) and a higher appreciation and fame (15%). Ahmad and Parnabas (2020) noted that the players do not only have an internal motivation, but also an external one. The extrinsic motivation is usually a higher financial reward. Our findings only partially correspond to what we find in the related literature, in which professional advancement appeared, in addition to a higher income, as a motivation for going abroad to play football (Bourke, 2002;Rábai, 2019b High income and fame are two factors that many of the respondents identified, and the two are closely related to each other. According to Hideg (2018), a role model is looked up to for some quality or action and is seen as an example to follow, even imitate. Young players see a lot of famous footballers in the media, the new stars grow up before the eyes of the young players, so they see examples of fast reputation and money. Berta's (2008) findings confirm that, as students in the 7th and 11th grades she interviewed chose their idols from the media to almost as often as they do from their families. Kósa and László's (2010) came to similar conclusions, as 20% of the 13-17 year old students they talked also chose idols from the media. These findings spectacularly underscore the importance of media in today's society, especially among the younger generations.

Discussion
In our recent study, we intended to find out about the aspirations of young footballers (N = 560) playing at football academies in the capital city and in the countryside of Hungary. After reviewing the relevant literature, we presented the pattern, research method, and our hypotheses. Then we continued with presenting our research findings that, in several cases, contain considerable differences between the academies of the capital city and the provinces.
For instance, the difference is significant (p = 0,039) when it comes to the opinion of the students in terms of their chances of obtaining vocational/industrial qualifications. Furthermore, we detected a considerable difference (p=0,000) between the ideas of the populations of the academies in the provinces and in the capital city with relation to their potential professional career in the future (Rábai, 2021).
We also wished to map the opinion of the young players regarding their chances of a foreign career in the future. Any difference between the two groups of academies was also a subject of our investigation. According to our findings, almost the entire population of the academies would like to play abroad. The young players named professional development and higher income as their primary motivation. Within that, however, we encountered major differences (p = 0,047).
The research findings detailed above therefore only partially confirm our preliminary hypotheses. The majority of participants believe that they have every chance to obtain the certificate of secondary education, and a large proportion of them think that they have a fairly good chance of going to college or university, we did not find real differences between the two academy groups. A large portion of the sample believe in a professional career in the future. In that respect, however, we observed a substantial difference (p = 0,000), as the students in the capital are a lot more confident, and that is in accordance with our original assumption. The majority of the young footballers wish to go abroad and, contrary to our original hypothesis, a significant difference (p = 0,047) was observed between the two academy groups. As motivation, the students identified professional development and high income, and it is in accordance with our hypotheses (Rábai, 2021).

Conclusions
Based on the conclusions of our research, we believe we have gained valuable insight into the aspirations and future plans of the young sportsmen who attend these special institutions. Our findings may serve as a good starting point for the professional leaders and coaches working in these academies to learn about the plans and ideas of their students. Additionally, the research also demonstrates some of the differences between the academies in the capital city and the provinces. The elements of the future vision of the academy players we addressed included their ideas regarding the chances of obtaining a secondary education certificate, a college degree, or a university degree. Furthermore, we wished to map what the students thought of their opportunities of starting a professional career at home or abroad. When they mentioned their motivation of going abroad, they put professional development on the top of their priorities (Rábai, 2021).