FEPSAC position statement : athletes’ dual careers in the European context

Stambulova, Natalia B. (author), Wylleman, Paul (author), Torregrossa, Miquel (author), Cecić Erpič, Saša (author), Vitali, Francesca (author), De Brandt, Koen (author), Khomutova, Anastasiya (author), Ruffault, Alexis (author), Ramis, Yago (author)

The aim of this FEPSAC Position Statement is to summarize current knowledge about athletes’ dual careers (DCs) in the European context and propose recommendations for future DC research, practice, and policy. Inspired by the European Union’s Guidelines on Dual Careers of Athletes (European Commission, 2012), researchers, practitioners, and policy makers collaborated over the last decade to create the European DC discourse as a context-informed and negotiated body of DC knowledge. In this paper, we proceed from analyzing this body of knowledge using recent review papers and European DC psychological research projects to formulating seven postulates summarizing DC research findings on factors influencing athletes in their striving for DC excellence. These factors include (1) context, (2) pathways and transitions, (3) challenges, (4) resources and coping, (5) support and empowerment, (6) student–athletes’ mental health, and (7) DC development environments. In the final section, we acknowledge the contributions of European DC discourse in serving athletes in their pursuit of DC excellence and European DC culture. We also provide a critical discussion on DC knowledge gaps and, on behalf of FEPSAC, offer recommendations for DC research, practice, and policy in Europe.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sport, dual career excellence, dual career development environments, european dual career culture, european dual career discourse, holistic perspective on athletes' development
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2024
• Number of pages: Str. 1-12
• Numbering: Vol. 71, art. 102572
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-190362
• UDC: 796.01
• ISSN on article: 1878-5476
• DOI: 10.1016/j.psychsport.2023.102572
• COBISS.SI-ID: 176957187
• Publication date in RUL: 26.10.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Psychology of sport and exercise
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 1878-5476
• COBISS.SI-ID: 23027973

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: šport, dvojna kariera, razvojna okolja, evropska kultura, evropski diskurz, razvoj športnikov, športna kariera, celostni pogled