Prior research has investigated gender differences in youths' athletic ambitions and motivational drivers for participating in sports. This research often suggests that females exhibit lower athletic ambitions (1), are less motivated by the prospect of becoming a professional athlete (2), and are more strongly motivated by social factors (3). Moreover, female athletes tend to be more task-oriented, focusing on skill improvement and mastery, while male athletes are generally more ego-oriented, driven by performance and results (4–7). However, regardless of any actual gender differences, gendered misconceptions among key socializers (e.g., parents and coaches) may shape how youths' motives and ambitions are interpreted, potentially producing perceived gender differences that are overstated or not present in athletes' self-reports. The present study examines such misalignments by comparing athletes' self-reports with parents' and coaches' perceptions.

While acknowledging the complexity of explanatory factors contributing to gender differences in motivation and ambitions, one possible explanation is the culturally embedded narrative about gender in sport. In many sports, stereotypical masculine traits tend to be over-emphasized (8), creating a narrative about sports that marginalizes girls and women (2). Skewed media attention towards male athletes (9) contributes to this narrative and creates an environment where girls lack female athletic role models (10). According to Social Role Theory (11), the underrepresentation of female athletes in the media influences societal perceptions regarding the appropriateness of women as athletes. The gender difference in motives for participating in sport is likely to have been influenced by what society regards as proper behavior for men and women (3).

In a society where sport is stereotyped as masculine and female athletes are underrepresented in the media, it is likely that there are gendered misconceptions about young athletes' true motivations and ambitions. While several studies have focused on gender differences in motivation in sports, a critical question that remains unexplored is whether males' and females' motives for participation in youth sport are accurately perceived by their coaches and parents. Some research has explored discrepancies between coaches' priorities and athletes' motivations. For instance, Zarrett et al. (12) compared the motivations of female youth athletes with their coaches' motivations, revealing that female athletes prioritize competitiveness and skill development as key aspects of having fun with their sport, whereas coaches tend to de-emphasize competitiveness. However, no research to date has systematically compared youth athletes' self-reported motives and ambitions in sport with the perceptions held by both their coaches and parents.

This gap is important because inaccurate perceptions—whether underestimating or overestimating motives—can lead to biased support and encouragement, ultimately shaping the opportunities available to young athletes. For example, research indicates that having fun and socializing with friends are primary motivations for participation among both boys and girls (13). Yet gender biases may lead parents and coaches to overestimate girls' social motivations and underestimate their athletic ambitions. Since competitiveness is often stereotyped as a masculine trait (3), there is a risk that socializers may overestimate achievement motives and ambitions for boys, while underestimating them for girls. Conversely, if girls are presumed to be less ambitious, parents and coaches may overemphasize hedonic motives (e.g., fun and socializing) rather than fostering competitive or achievement-oriented aspirations.

Gendered narratives in sports are sustained by a complex ecosystem of various actors and significant socializers, each potentially contributing to the reinforcement of stereotypes and discriminatory practices. Eccles' expectancy-value theory (14) provides a framework for understanding the role of socializers' beliefs and behaviors in shaping motivations in achievement settings. This theory has been applied to explain how parental socialization practices influence children's motivation in sport (15). A central prediction is that children tend to adopt their parents' beliefs, meaning that their own motivations and expectations of success will resonate with “a belief system that originated with their parents” (16). Therefore, parents' gender-stereotypical beliefs about their sons' and daughters' participation in sports are likely to shape the feedback they provide, which in turn may reinforce gender stereotypes within the children's own belief systems. Parents who believe that males have superior athletic competencies compared to females will tend to provide better opportunities and encouragement for their sons than they do for their daughters. The difference in parents' socialization practices based on gender will influence the children's beliefs about their own athletic abilities (15).

Work by Eccles and colleagues (15, 17, 18) has extensively demonstrated that parents' expectations influence children's motivations and performance. In the context of sports, coaches also serve as critical socializing agents for young athletes. While Weltevreden et al. (19) found that parents have a greater influence on children's achievement goals than coaches do, coaches will arguably also play an important role in athletes' sports experiences (36), as they influence players' motivation (20, 21) and their enjoyment of the sport (22).

The purpose of this study is to identify potential misalignments between the motives and ambitions reported by youth football players and the perceptions held by their parents and coaches. We test two overarching hypotheses:

H1: Parents' and coaches' perceptions will differ from players' self-reported motives and ambitions.

While prior research has examined the influence of parents and coaches on athletes' motivation (29, 30), the present study extends this literature by examining and identifying misalignment between players and significant socializers (i.e., coaches and parents), as well as the gendered biases associated with these misalignments.

In accordance with our first hypothesis, the results revealed significant misalignments between the beliefs held by parents and coaches and the actual ambitions and motives of youth football players. Specifically, parents and coaches tend to overestimate the importance of social interaction and enjoyment as motives for participation, while underestimating players' development motives and dreams of becoming professional athletes.

One possible explanation for this misalignment lies in dominant cultural frameworks within Norwegian sport. The vision of “Joy of sports for all” in Norwegian sport emphasises participation, enjoyment, and inclusivity over competition and elite performance (31). Among adults, adherence to this norm is widely expected, and strong expressions of ambition or elite orientation may be perceived as socially inappropriate. This tendency may be further reinforced by broader cultural norms associated with the “Law of Jante’, which discourage overt self-promotion and the articulation of exceptional aspirations (32). Together, these norms may shape how adults interpret and evaluate young athletes' ambitions, leading them to frame sport primarily as a recreational and developmental arena rather than a pathway toward professional performance. Youth, by contrast, may not yet have fully internalised these cultural expectations, potentially contributing to divergent perceptions of what sport participation can or should entail.

Importantly, the assumption that a strong performance orientation necessarily undermines enjoyment is not consistently supported by empirical evidence. For example, a study examining sources of enjoyment in sport among Brazilian female volleyball and basketball players found no significant association between a high aggregated amount of deliberate practice and reduced enjoyment, despite “having fun” being reported as the primary motive for participation (33). Moreover, substantial individual differences were observed in how players defined and experienced enjoyment in sport. This suggests that “having fun” may be interpreted differently by players and adults: whereas adults may associate enjoyment primarily with social interaction, some young athletes may experience enjoyment through performance-oriented training and skill development. Nevertheless, the present study does not directly examine how “fun” is defined by players or adults, and future research should therefore explore variations in perceptions of enjoyment in sport.

The misalignments between players and significant socialising agents documented in our research are important for both coaches and parents to recognise. Misconceptions regarding players' motives for participation may lead adults to unintentionally encourage or constrain sport participation in ways that are misaligned with athletes' own goals, thereby increasing the risk of dropout. If mismatches in motivational alignment do, in fact, reduce enjoyment and contribute to sport attrition, addressing such discrepancies becomes relevant not only from a sporting perspective but also from a public health standpoint. Given that positive sport experiences during youth are associated with a higher likelihood of sustained physical activity and better health in adulthood (34), reducing motivational misalignment, and consequently dropout, may represent a meaningful strategy for counteracting the growing prevalence of sedentary behaviour and its associated health consequences.

Our second hypothesis predicted that the misalignment would be more pronounced in female players. While our data shows that parents and coaches share similar misconceptions about female and male players' motives to participate, some of our findings support the prediction that females' ambitions are particularly underestimated by parents and coaches. One notable gendered misalignment is the coaches' overestimation of girls' social motivations, and their underestimation of development-motives. Although socializing with friends is indeed an important motivation for female youth athletes, there is also a prominent desire for competitiveness and skill development, which tends to be neglected by coaches (12). Such biased gender beliefs may explain why coaches often adopt different coaching styles depending on whether they coach males or females (35). Derived from a cultural understanding of gender differences, it is generally more acceptable to use an aggressive, performance-oriented coaching style for boys than for girls (1).

Following the same pattern, parents underestimated their daughters' motivations to develop skills, to engage in both organized and unorganized training, and to dream of becoming professional, a misalignment that was not as pronounced for male players. Also, parents underestimated the interest in football as the reason why their daughters started to play football, while the same misalignment was not seen toward their sons. This pattern where adults overemphasize the social aspects of sports participation may downplay the developmental and performance aspects for girls. This may lead to a scenario where female players receive fewer training sessions and lower quality training that prioritizes social aspects over skill development. We do not assert that adults' preference for less frequent training for girls is a conscious intent to provide them with inferior opportunities, but rather a form of “discrimination of low expectations” that may be unconscious. The potential consequences of gender biased beliefs among parents and coaches are significant, as females may be provided with less rigorous training programs and less access to high-quality coaching, and may drop out from football.

According to Eccles' Expectancy-Value Theory (14), parents' and coaches' beliefs and values may shape young athletes' self-concept, and over time, shaping their ambitions and behaviors for becoming a professional athlete. This theoretical framework may also help explain why both the present study and previous research (1, 2) find that males report higher ambitions than females of becoming professional football players. If significant socializers hold beliefs, values, and behaviors that implicitly favor males as professional athletes, these socialization processes may shape male and female players' self-concept differently. This may explain why the girls in our study were less likely to envision themselves as future professional football players and potentially reinforcing stereotypes that female athletes are less ambitious. As a consequence, female athletes may adjust their behavior, for example by dreaming less, taking training less seriously, or drop out from sport.

Coaches and parents play a critical role in creating motivational climate (14, 36), and in this endeavor, it is crucial that they are aware of their own potential behavioral biases influenced by gender-stereotypes. If parents and coaches underestimate their child's ambitions, or misinterpret their main motivations, they may unconsciously project traditional gender roles onto their child, reinforcing the gender differences in sport. In the long run, the reinforcement of stereotypical gender roles may limit female opportunities not only to become professional athletes, but also to pursue traditionally male-dominant roles in sport, such as coaching or leadership positions.

Unconscious gender bias in the misalignment of parents, coaches and players motives may also reinforce the disparities in resource allocation between female and male youth football players, as experienced by Norwegian female youth players (1). Identifying gender bias in perceived motives, and increasing awareness of such bias among significant socializers, may therefore be an important step toward gender equity, which in turn may support sustained participation in football and sports.

Addressing gendered misalignments requires increasing awareness among parents and coaches of the potential impact of their gendered expectations. Providing accurate and supportive feedback to both male and female players is essential to fostering motivation and equal opportunities in sport. This could be achieved through mandatory coaching courses, systematic focus within football clubs, and guidance for parents. In addition, clarifying expectations between coaches and players, between parents and players, and between parents and coaches may be important to align training and everyday routines with the ambitions of each player.

Some limitations of the current study should be acknowledged. Although players and coaches completed the survey in a controlled setting, were assured of anonymity, and were encouraged to respond honestly and independently, we cannot rule out that some responses reflected perceived expectations rather than participants' true views (i.e., social desirability bias). Similar concerns apply to parents, who completed the questionnaire in an uncontrolled setting and may have consulted others while responding. Nonetheless, the large sample size strengthens the robustness and generalizability of our findings. Future research could complement questionnaire-based design with alternative approaches, such as in-depth qualitative interviews, to mitigate these limitations and provide a richer, more nuanced understanding of how gender bias is experienced.

Finally, although misalignment may be an important factor in understanding sport participation and gendered expectations, we acknowledge that these issues emerge through complex and multifaceted processes (33). Misalignment should therefore be considered alongside other relevant individual, social, and structural factors when designing and implementing interventions to promote sustained and equitable sport participation.