Empowering Young Female Athletes Through a Self-Strengthening Programme: A Qualitative Analysis

The aim of this study was to describe how young female athletes perceived the influences of a self-strengthening programme. The self-strengthening programme for young female athletes was run by the Swedish Sport Confederation. The programme was designed to empower young female athletes. The study methodology was based on a phenomenographic approach and entailed interviews with a strategically selected group of 14 participants in the programme. The informants were between 13 and 20 years of age and came from individual and team sports. The findings show that perceived influences of the programme were: a feeling of self-confidence; a feeling of being seen and confirmed; awareness of women’s issues; a feeling of belongingness; and an improvement in coaching skills. The self-strengthening programme empowered young female athletes due to increased self-efficacy and an increased awareness of women’s issues.