Organisational Support for High-Performance Athletes to Develop Financial Literacy and Self-Management Skills

Hee Jung Hong,Ian Fraser

doi:10.3390/jrfm15010017

Abstract

This paper reports the results of analysing desk-based data on organisational support for high performance athletes to develop their financial literacy and self-management skills when transitioning out of sport. There are two research questions: (1) Do sport organisations provide support schemes or other interventions such that high-performance athletes develop their financial literacy and self-management skills? and (2) Do sport organisations provide financial support schemes for high-performance athletes’ retirements? If so, what do they involve? Desk-based data collection was applied to 23 sporting organisations; these comprised 21 national organisations representing 19 countries, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Oceanic National Olympic Committee (ONOC). Fifteen of the 23 organisations, representing 14 countries, provided some support or interventions on financial planning and self-management within their career assistance programmes. The findings also indicate that most organisations in 17 different countries did not provide any financial support for athletes’ retirements. While a number of sport organisations have developed appropriate interventions to assist high-performance athletes to develop financial literacy and self-management skills, such schemes appear only to be provided to high-performance athletes who have competed at the highest level e.g., Olympics, world championships, etc. Support for athletes at lower levels should also be developed and delivered by national governments, or by national sport organisations.

Highlights

High-performance athletes’ career development and transitions have been the subject of significant and growing interest from academic researchers and the research area is well-developed (Stambulova et al 2009; Stambulova et al 2020)
Since the 1990s, the focus has shifted to a holistic perspective on athletic career and within-career transitions, e.g., junior-to-senior transitions, using sport-specific theoretical frameworks such as the ‘Athletic career transition model’ (Stambulova 2003), the ‘Holistic athletic career model’ (Wylleman 2019; Wylleman and Lavallee 2004), and, taking a holistic ecological approach: the ‘Athletic talent development environment model’ and the ‘Environment success factors model’ (Henriksen et al 2010)
Based on the gaps identified in the literature, this research aims to identify and provide an overview of the resources within career assistance programmes worldwide which are available to assist high-performance athletes develop financial literacy and self-management skills

Summary

Introduction

High-performance athletes’ career development and transitions have been the subject of significant and growing interest from academic researchers and the research area is well-developed (Stambulova et al 2009; Stambulova et al 2020). The research emphasis has shifted from an initial research focus on sport career termination (e.g., Mihovilovic (1968). Several studies, from the 1960s to the 1980s, investigated high-performance athletes’. Since the 1990s, the focus has shifted to a holistic perspective on athletic career and within-career transitions, e.g., junior-to-senior transitions, using sport-specific theoretical frameworks such as the ‘Athletic career transition model’ (Stambulova 2003), the ‘Holistic athletic career model’ (Wylleman 2019; Wylleman and Lavallee 2004), and, taking a holistic ecological approach: the ‘Athletic talent development environment model’ and the ‘Environment success factors model’ (Henriksen et al 2010). These research developments have contributed to the development of studies on assisting high-performance athletes to better manage both their athletic and non-athletic careers (Stambulova and Wylleman 2014). Assistance may take the form of interventions or structured programmes developed and delivered by sport governing bodies/organisations

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