Perceived Organizational Support and Team Identification in the Nigeria Professional Football League

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between perceived organizational support and team identification among football players in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). The moderating effect of pay satisfaction was also tested. The population for this comprises 700 football players plying their trade in the NPFL, out of which a minimum sample size of 248 was determined using Krejcie and Morgan (1970) table. A structured questionnaire was distributed to 248 players randomly via their email or facebook messenger, from which 125 completed and returned the questionnaire. Data collected were analysed using Kendall_tau’s correlation coefficient and partial correlation through the help of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. Results show that, there is significant correlation between perceived organizational support and team identification. Also, pay satisfaction greatly influence this relationship. Thus, it was recommended that, the clubs should endeavor to develop strategies that will support players in order to enhance their level of identification with the clubs. Proper pay package should be put in place to encourage the players put in more efforts without any fear about their future.

Keywords: perceived organizational support, perceived management support, perceived team-mates support, team identification, affective identification, cognitive identification, pay satisfaction.