Examination of digital game playing behaviors and mental training levels of football players playing in the Turkish Football Super League: FIFA game example

The aim of this study is to examine the effects of professional football players playing in the Turkish Football Super League's interest in the FIFA game, their playing attitudes, playing habits and playing experiences on their professional football careers. The sample of the study consisted of 36 professional football players playing FIFA games in the Turkish Super League. The research was conducted with a mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) approach as a data collection tool, and this approach aimed to make a more comprehensive analysis by combining both methods. Quantitative data, Mental Training Inventory, was developed by Behnke et al. (2017) and adapted to Turkish by Yarayan and İlhan (2018). The Digital Game Playing Attitude Scale, developed by Tek Kurdu Demir and Mutlu Bozkurt, (2019), has 18 items and a three-dimensional structure. Descriptive statistics and correlation analyzes were used in the analysis of the data. As a result of the analyzes, no significant relationship was found between digital game playing attitude and mental training inventory (p>0.05). However, some strong correlations were found between the sub-dimensions of mental skills and the attitude towards playing digital games. Qualitative data were examined using the content analysis method and open-ended structured questions were asked to the football players. It was revealed that football players mostly used digital games as a means of establishing social bonds, thinking strategically and having fun. It was also stated that digital games strengthened communication within the team and reinforced the sense of competition. It was found that digital games have the potential to improve the mental skills of professional football players, but they did not have a direct effect on physical performance.As a result, it was concluded that digital games should be used in a controlled manner for athletes, and that the playing time should be managed consciously. Keywords: Football, Digital Game, FIFA, Mental Training