Adele Muscat

This study explores the role of sports agents in men’s basketball on the small European island of Malta. The limited literature on sports agents considers them as athletes’ key advisors throughout their careers. The impact sports agents have had and continue to have on player careers and the basketball industry is investigated in this qualitative study. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders in the Malta basketball scene including professional male basketball players that have played on the island, sports agents who have represented players in Malta, league representatives such as club presidents, and coaches with experience in coaching men’s basketball in Malta. Results indicate the role of sports agents as being influential in facilitating contract signings of professional players. Sports agents are seen as beneficial in a professional basketball player’s career, but they may also be difficult to deal with, especially for clubs. In addition, the interviewees spoke about how sports agents have influenced the overall average skill level of the Maltese men’s 1st Division league, providing modes of improvement for Maltese basketball in general.

Audience behaviour is an external factor which could influence an athlete’s performance during a match due to the evaluative attitude which it might convey. One of the most common positive influences on a team’s motivation can be attributed to a supportive and cheering audience. Contrastingly, jeering can be interpreted as negative influence. High emotions exchanged between the spectators and the players may also show the important ties which bind them together, and this can affect the players’ behaviour on the field of play. This study focuses on how crowd behaviour in Maltese football influences the players’ performance in the game. The influence of spectator behaviour on the psychological state of six male national senior football team members and six male national team youth players was analysed through data gathered from individual semi-structured interviews. Results show that both senior and youth players are influenced by variables of audience behaviour and feel pressured and anxious throughout matches.  Incentives for positive behaviour need to be introduced, together with sanctions for the breaking of rules, as well as slogans and placards placed in the stands for further awareness need to become the norm. If we are to curb societal issues such as racism and violence, the need for educational strategies is clear.