Passion, Motivation, and Well-Being in Young Footballers: A Systematic Review

Background: Psychological well-being is crucial for the development and performance of young athletes. This systematic review aims to synthesize the available scientific evidence on the relationship between passion (harmonious and obsessive), basic psychological needs (BPNs), motivation, affect (positive and negative), and life satisfaction in young football (soccer) players. Methods: A systematic literature review was performed, following the PRISMA 2020 (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The search was conducted in the Web of Science, Scopus, ERIC, and SportDiscus databases, using a comprehensive strategy that combined keywords related to football, youth, passion, motivation, and well-being. Two independent reviewers performed article screening, eligibility assessment, and data extraction. The methodological quality of the included studies was determined using two different tools. Results: Nine studies met the inclusion criteria and were analyzed in detail. The results consistently indicate that harmonious passion is associated with greater fulfillment of BPNs, positive affect, and overall life satisfaction. In contrast, obsessive passion was linked to negative outcomes such as burnout and emotional dysregulation. The available evidence suggests a positive association of harmonious passion with motivation and well-being, and an association of obsessive passion with psychological distress. Conclusions: Within the delimited scope, the evidence suggests that harmonious passion is an important construct positively associated with the well-being and motivation of young footballers, while obsessive passion is associated with adverse outcomes. Research in this area is scarce, showing methodological diversity and heterogeneous samples, which limits the generalizability of the findings. Future research should prioritize longitudinal designs and interventions to promote harmonious passion and the satisfaction of BPNs.