The Impact of Coaches’ Transformational Leadership on Soccer Players’ Satisfaction in Selected Ethiopian Super and National League Football Clubs

The primary goal of the current study was to determine how coaches’ transformational leadership philosophies affected player contentment on the selected Ethiopian Super League and National League football teams. A transformational leader encourages and inspires others to step outside of their comfort zones and find creative solutions to issues. A key factor in creating and sustaining player performance and athlete satisfaction is the coaching approach. The goal of the study was to ascertain how soccer players’ contentment with their particular football teams was impacted by coaches’ transformational leadership approaches. The study design was a correlational research design. The study subjects in the sample consisted of 227 soccer players. SPSS version 20.0 was used in this study for data entry, computation, and processing. The study results of independent t-tests and multiple linear regression models were revealed to be fit. Athlete satisfaction predicted by the regression model was significant and fit. The present study revealed that the national league’s mean score was lower than the super league’s mean in the independent t-test results. The study showed that the most crucial coach behavior to improve athletes’ satisfaction is transformational coaching leadership style. Because of this, the Ethiopian Football Federation and other regional football federations may consider how transformative leaders’ leadership philosophies affect athlete satisfaction.

Introduction

Background of the Study

Leadership is one of the most important factors in deciding whether an organization succeeds or fails. Leaders who exhibit transformational behavior that inspires their followers to accomplish above and beyond what is expected of them have more satisfied and committed followers (Bass, 1985). Managing a team of players in modern football is getting harder, whether they are young athletes or adults. However, a transformative leader is someone who motivates others to achieve more than they previously thought possible. A competent coach can inspire athletes to go above and beyond their goals. Transformational leadership is a leadership approach that aspires to create positive change in a follower. It has gained popularity in the sporting world in the last decade. It is transforming that top coaches’ coaching of their athletes and teams leads to sports success. The idea of transformational leadership was initially established for organizational psychology in 1978, but it was originally focused on political leaders. Bass (1985) was the first to suggest that it functioned through four mechanisms: Idealized influence, inspiring motivation, intellectual stimulation, and personalized consideration (Antonakiset al., 2003).

A transformational leader inspires and innovates, manages teams in a way that motivates them to do things outside of their comfort zones, and invents new things in their line of work (Korejan & Shahbazi, 2016). When a leader practices transformational leadership, followers are drawn to shared collectivism rather than individualism (Maidenberg, 2017). In a sporting context, leaders demonstrate their transformational leadership style by showing concern for, inspiring, and even having trust in players (Cubitt, 2015). The coaching leadership style is an essential factor in the sports environment for managing the large soccer sector (Machet al., 2022). Leadership is the practice of inspiring and enabling others to work energetically toward accomplishing shared goals. Transformational leaders affect follower motivation (Ilieset al., 2006). Leadership and its styles are thought to be an act of influencing individuals in an organization so that they work eagerly to achieve group goals (Ghanbarpour & Seghar, 2018). Similarly, athletes in sports require leadership. They decide to follow someone who can give them protection, direction, and structure.

The leadership style of a coach is an important factor in achieving and maintaining peak athletic performance and athlete satisfaction (Chelladurai & Riemer, 1997). The idea that coach behavior has a significant impact on athletes’ performance is consistently supported by the relationship between coaches’ leadership style and various dimensions of athletes’ psychosocial responses (Enoksenet al., 2014). A coach’s responsibility is to train, instruct, or advise athletes on how to improve their physical, technical, tactical, and psychological performance in their sport. However, a coach’s coaching style is also the manner in which they interact with their players while training, instructing, or counseling them (Marcone, 2017). Coaches, who are recognized as major motivators, have a significant impact on the sports goals of young players (Côtéet al., 2010). Sports coaches have a significant impact on young athletes’ experiences, which leads to the coach-athlete relationship and athlete outcomes (Stenling & Tafvelin, 2016). Transformative leaders inspire their subordinates to think about the same problems in novel ways, articulate a vision, set challenging goals, and excite their followers.

According to Bass (1985), transformational leadership is a process in which a leader seeks to raise his or her followers’ awareness of what is right and significant while inspiring them to go above and beyond their expectations. Four behavioral elements have been identified as essential to transformational leadership: idealized influence, inspiring motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Bass, 1996). Behavior that inspires admiration, respect, and trust from followers is referred to as “idealized influence”. Idealized influence entails leaders sharing risks, prioritizing the needs of their followers over their own, and acting ethically and morally. Actions that give followers’ work a purpose and a challenge might be examples of inspirational motivation (Tahaynehet al., 2009). Moreover, enthusiasm and optimism promote a spirit of cooperation. Intelligent, logical, and careful problem-solving are all enhanced by intellectual stimulation. All of these behaviors are associated with intellectual stimulation (Bass & Avolio, 1994). They include the suggestion of novel approaches to reviewing how to complete projects and the encouragement of reexamining preconceived notions. Finally, individual consideration focuses on treating followers as people and not merely as group members. Spending time on mentoring and coaching, assisting others in maximizing their talents and paying close attention to others’ concerns are all actions associated with customized consideration.

A leadership style called “transformational leadership” advocates enhancing athletes’ performance and overall well-being. It is built on empowerment and vision. Athletes’ performance, dedication, and understanding of their roles are all favorably correlated with transformational leadership. According to Bass’ theory, transformational leadership, that is, inspiring, developmental values-based, and intellectually stimulating, rather than transactional forms of leadership predicated on the use of rewards and sanctions, has the highest effects on athletes (Arthuret al., 2017). According to Bass (1985, 1996), the transformational leadership style can inspire followers to do better than expected, which raises athletes’ satisfaction (Bass & Riggio, 2010). Through coaching, mentoring, and the provision of both challenge and support, transformational leadership inspires followers to commit to the organization’s shared vision and goals, challenges them to be creative problem solvers, and builds their leadership capacity (Bass & Riggio, 2006). The transformative coaches that inspire and motivate their athletes to go above and beyond what was initially planned for them and the aspect of human nature that builds the capacity to guide and inspire others are crucial. To raise players’ additional effort, their perceptions of their coach’s efficacy, and their satisfaction with his leadership style, transformational leadership is advised to improve the task atmosphere (Álvarezet al., 2019). According to Caliskan and Baydar (2016), athlete satisfaction is viewed as a significant consequence of a variety of psychological characteristics at the individual level (intrapersonal). A complicated examination of the structures, processes, and results connected to the players’ experience is known as “athlete satisfaction,” which is described as a state of happy emotion (Chelladurai & Riemer, 1997). Individual player satisfaction with team behavior, which includes team performance, task contribution, social contribution, and integration, is defined as the players’ contentment with the team.

A team is defined as two or more people working together toward a common goal (Abu Samahet al., 2015). The team needs to work together and feel like they belong to achieve their common objective. For an athlete to feel satisfied and motivated, they must feel a sense of team loyalty. According to a recent study, teammates’ cooperation influences athletes’ performance (Abu Samahet al., 2015). A person is more likely to be motivated if they are happy with the team. Through team integration, team task participation, and team performance, the teammates’ satisfaction could be assessed (Abu Samahet al., 2015). The transformational leadership paradigm has gained popularity in order to impact the sporting environment. Coaches who are transformational leaders model appropriate behavior for their athletes and team members to follow (idealized influence), challenge and inspire them with meaningful work in their daily lives (inspirational motivation), and acknowledge individual differences through a supportive leadership style (individualized consideration). Through their leadership, the coaches enhance team performance, which generates better athletes. Because of this, transformational leadership is employed to create more satisfying outcomes within an individual or among team members (Alemayehuet al., 2016).

Dirks and Ferrin (2002) argued that transformational leadership in sports organizations produces better results because athletes are more likely to trust coaches who show them concern and care (Cubitt, 2015). The coaches, who are influential professionals, motivate athletes to reach their maximum potential and succeed in their sport. In contrast, coaches’ lack of leadership qualities can also be a cause of players’ poor performance. Therefore, transformational coaches in the sports industry have to care about the players’ needs, motives, values, and inspirational motivation, as well as recognize individual differences to develop them into the leaders of tomorrow. When soccer players are happy with their coach’s leadership style, their athletic performance improves, and coaches’ leadership styles inspire athletes.

The researchers were driven to conduct this study to determine to what extent transformational coaching styles influence soccer players’ satisfaction with their football clubs. This leadership approach is essential to charismatic leadership since it inspires, motivates, and takes into account the individual interests of the players in the sports environment (Gomeset al., 2006). The positive affective state resulting from a complex evaluation of the structures, processes, and outcomes associated with the athletic experience is used to describe athlete pleasure in particular (Chelladurai & Riemer, 1997). The present study’s findings revealed how much coaches’ transformational leadership styles affected football players’ satisfaction within their respective football clubs. Additionally, the researchers were interested in determining whether Super League or National League soccer clubs effectively used transformational coaching and leadership styles in terms of the satisfaction of soccer players in their clubs. As a result, when considering the important variables of satisfaction related to leadership behaviors, the study would fill a gap in the transformational leadership styles of coaches.

Method

In this study, both the Super and National Leagues have players competing at different levels in the leagues. Some of the players are in the Super League, while others play in the National League, which is considered a lower-level league in Ethiopia. The researchers intended to conduct the study within these football clubs to create awareness and consider their transformational coaching styles that influence football players. To determine the sample size for a study, the researchers used the Taro Yamane Statistical Formula to find the sample size of a finite population. The sample size was determined from the total population of football clubs in the Higher and National Leagues. According to Yamane (1967) simplified formula for proportions with a 95% confidence interval level and P = 0.05 assumed (Adam, 2020). The equation is: (1)n=N1+N(e)2

Where:

n: sample size,

N: population size,

e: the level of precision.

In this quantitative study, which aims to investigate the influence of the transformational leadership style of coaches on athlete satisfaction in the leagues of football clubs, the study sample is selected from two leagues of Ethiopian football clubs. First, 227 questionnaires were distributed to the football players by the researchers, and then 220 were returned. The seven questionnaires that were filled out incompletely or incorrectly were not evaluated.

The Study Instruments

For leadership, the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire-Form 5X (Rowold, 2005) measures athletes’ perceptions of their coaches’ leadership styles, and the Athlete Satisfaction Questionnaire-Form 5X (ASQ) measures athletes’ satisfaction with their coaches’ behaviors. These two instruments measure transformational leadership styles and their consequences for athlete satisfaction. Transformational leadership is classified into four factors: charisma (8 items), inspirational motivation (4 items), intellectual stimulation (4 items), and individualized consideration (4 items). Athlete satisfaction is divided into ten factors: individual performance (3 items), team performance (3 items), strategy (6 items), ability utilization (6 items), personal treatment (5 items), training and instruction (3 items), team social contribution (3 items), team integration (4 items), budget (3 items), and academic support services (3 items). A 5-point Likert-type answer scale ranging from 0 (not at all) to 4 (frequently always) was used to measure leadership behavior. A 5-point Likert-type rating scale ranging from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 5 (very satisfying) is employed in this study to measure athlete satisfaction. The study employed both independent t-tests and multiple linear regression models.

The Study Hypotheses

H₁: Transformational leadership styles of coaches have no statistically significant influence on soccer player satisfaction in football clubs.

H₂: There is no statistically significant difference between the Super and National Leagues of football clubs in terms of the transformational leadership styles of coaches’ influence on soccer players’ satisfaction.

Results

According to Table I, the transformational leadership variables of the mean of individual consideration, intellectual stimulation, charismatic (idealized influence), and inspiration motivation each exhibited a marginally different mean. The standard deviation showed a slight variance in the amount of data spread out for charismatic (idealized influence), inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation, respectively. The bigger the deviation within the data collection, the further the data points deviate from the mean; hence, the higher the standard deviation, the more dispersed the data. The standard deviation in this study varied somewhat across the transformational leadership behaviors.

Table I. Descriptive Statistics of the Transformational Leadership Variables

Transformational leadership variables	Mean	SD
Charismatic (Idealized influence)	3.051	0.504
Inspirational motivation	3.035	0.557
Intellectual stimulation	3.052	0.595
Individual consideration	3.058	0.590

The pairs of Pearson correlations in Table II revealed that the independent variables of transformational leadership behavior and the dependent variables of players’ contentment exhibited statistically positive and moderately significant relationships between two variables.

Table II. The Correlation between Transformational Leadership Style of Coaches and Athlete Satisfaction

Variables	Athlete satisfaction	Idealized influence	Inspirational motivation	Intellectual stimulation	Individual consideration
Athlete satisfaction	–
Idealized influence	0.684**	–
Inspirational motivation	0.625**	0.442**	–
Intellectual stimulation	0.640**	0.512**	0.429**	–
Individual consideration	0.663**	0.539**	0.437**	0.487**	–

F (4, 215) = 128.234, p = 0.001, R² = 0.699 indicates that the overall regression model was significant and fit. The ratio of the regression mean square (MSR) to the residual mean square (MSE) is the F statistic value. The independent variables account for the variation in the dependent variable if the F statistic value of significance is small, that is, smaller than 0.05. The results of the current investigation indicated that F has a significance value of less than 0.05. As a result, the dependent variable’s variance can be explained by the independent factors (see Table III).

Table III. Results of ANOVA for Regression

Model	Sum of squares	df	Mean square	F	p-value
Regression	11.198	4	2.800	128.234	< 0.001
Residual	4.694	215	0.022
Total	15.892	219

Table IV displays R, R-squared, adjusted R-squared, and the standard error of the estimate values. The R indicated the correlation between the observed and predicted values of the dependent variable. In the present study, the absolute value of R indicates a strong relationship between player satisfaction and transformational coaching leadership behaviors. The R-squared value showed that the proportion of variation in the dependent variable was explained by the regression model.

Table IV. Model Summary for Regression

R	R-squared	Adjusted R-squared	Std. error of the estimate
0.839	0.705	0.699	0.148

According to Table V, all transformational leadership traits in football clubs had a statistically significant effect on player contentment. Player satisfaction was positively and statistically significantly influenced by the correlation coefficient values of charismatic (idealized influence (ß = 0.158), inspirational motivation (ß = 0.133), intellectual stimulation (ß = 0.109), and individualized consideration (ß = 0.122), and 69.9% of the player contentment was explained by transformational coaching leadership behaviors. The beta coefficient value was for every 1 unit increase in the predictor variable, and the outcome variable will increase with the beta coefficient value.

Table V. Regression Coefficients of Transformational Leadership Behaviors of Coaches Regressed on Athlete Satisfaction

Leadership behaviors	Unstandardized coefficients		Standardized coefficients	t	p-value
	B	Std. error	Beta
(Constant)	1.814	0.071		25.404	<0.001
Charismatic influence	0.158	0.026	0.296	6.203	<0.001
Inspirational motivation	0.133	0.021	0.274	6.277	<0.001
Intellectual stimulation	0.109	0.021	0.241	5.227	<0.001
Individual consideration	0.122	0.021	0.266	5.669	<0.001

Fig. 1 shows the histogram of the residuals with a normal curve superimposed. The residuals give the impression of being close to the normal curve of the dependent variable, athlete satisfaction.

Fig. 1. The histogram of the regression standardized residuals of athlete satisfaction.

Fig. 2 shows a normal p-p plot of the residuals with normal linearity of the observed probability of athlete satisfaction (Y). The residuals give the impression of being close to the normal linearity of the dependent variable, athlete satisfaction (Y).

Fig. 2. Normal P-P plot of the regression model predicting athlete satisfaction.

Fig. 3 shows a scatter plot of the residuals versus a predicted dependent variable of athlete satisfaction (Y). The pattern here indicates that there are no problems with the assumption that the residuals are normally distributed at each level of Y and that there is constant invariance across levels of Y. The regression of the horizontal line has been laid at the residual = 0 levels.

Fig. 3. The scatter plot of regression standardized residual of athlete satisfaction (Y).

Table VI shows that the mean of the higher-league football clubs was a little bit greater on average than the mean of the national-league football clubs. The higher league has an average of 3.449, and the national league football clubs have an average of 3.278. The higher league football clubs data had a standard deviation of 0.225, whereas the national league football clubs data had a standard deviation of 0.376. The higher league football club data having a higher standard deviation shows that the data is more spread out or dispersed than the national league club data.

Table VI. Descriptive Statistics of Athlete Satısfactıon Levels of the National and Super League Football Clubs

Type of the league of the club	N	Mean	SD
National league	90	3.278	0.376
Higher league	130	3.449	0.225

Table VII shows the independent samples t-test means value differences of the transformational coaching leadership style and athlete satisfaction of national league football clubs and higher league football clubs. Scores differed significantly (t (132.99) = −3.853, p < 0.001), with the national league’s mean score (M = 3.278, SD = 0.376) lower than the higher league’s (M = 3.449, SD = 0.225). The magnitude of the differences in the means (−17070, 95% CI = −0.258 to −0.083) was significant. Hence, H₀ was rejected and H₁ was accepted according to the mean differences.

Table VII. Results of Independent Samples T-test of Transformational Leadership between National and Higher League on Athlete Satisfaction in Football Clubs

	Levene’s test		T-test for equality of means
	F	Sig.	t	df	Sig. (2-tailed)	Mean Diff.	Std. error diff.	95% CI
								Lower bound	Upper bound
Equal variances assumed	21.23	<0.001	−4.201	218	<0.001	−0.171	0.041	−0.251	−0.091
Equal variances not assumed			−3.853	132.99	<0.001	−0.171	0.044	−0.258	−0.083

Discussion

The primary goal of this research was to find out how a coach’s transformational leadership style affected soccer player satisfaction at Ethiopian Super and National League football clubs. The study’s findings revealed the following, as stated below:

1. A coach’s idealized influence has a strong influence on soccer players’ satisfaction.
2. The intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration of a coach’s transformational leadership behavior have a moderately significant impact.
3. The inspirational motivation of a coach also has a low influence on athletes’ satisfaction.

The above conclusions show that the contentment of soccer players in both the Super and National Leagues of some selected Ethiopian football clubs is significantly influenced by the transformational leadership style of a coach. The study showed that coaches have a significant impact on players’ contentment within each football club.

An independent sample t-test shows that the Super League and National League have distinguished themselves in their coaching styles. In terms of the satisfaction of soccer players, there was a statistically significant difference between the two leagues of football clubs, with the Super League mean score being greater than the national league football clubs. The transformational leadership styles of coaches have a statistically significant influence on soccer player satisfaction in both leagues of football clubs. The results of the present investigation rejected the null hypothesis and supported the alternative hypothesis.

The findings suggest that transformative leadership styles have a positive and significant influence on soccer players’ satisfaction in both leagues. According to the findings of this study, coaches’ transformational leadership behaviors have a significant impact on the satisfaction of soccer players in football clubs. The study supports the idea that transformational leaders encourage athletes and advance group objectives to help athletes achieve both their individual and shared goals (Bass, 1985; Bass & Avolio, 1994; Bass & Riggio, 2006). According to recent studies, transformational leadership has a positive effect on a variety of athlete outcomes, including performance (Charbonneauet al., 2001), team cohesion (Croninet al., 2015), and well-being (Stenling & Tafvelin, 2014). Since leadership is socially constructed in the coach-athlete relationship (Kao & Tsai, 2016), how players view their coaches’ leadership behaviors and attribute their skills may have an effect on their interactions.

Transformational leaders encourage creativity in their followers and approach old situations in new ways. Individualized consideration is when a leader pays close attention to each follower’s needs, listens to their worries, and mentors them (Judgeet al., 2004). When a coach is knowledgeable about the foundations of transformational leadership, he or she can provide opportunities for athletes to connect meaningfully, serve as a positive role model, excite and motivate, and encourage learning and creativity. To enhance the athletes’ satisfaction, transformational leaders use their efforts to inspire them and assist them in developing their vision and insights (Saybaniet al., 2015). Individualized consideration of coaches’ leadership behavior stands for the coach’s ability to communicate with each athlete and take their opinions into account. The individualized consideration is that a leader attends to the soccer player’s needs via a mentor or guide. This coach is concerned about each player and provides support as well as an empathic understanding of each person’s situation. The leader gives empathy and support and keeps communication open to overcome the challenges of the players. The personalized consideration behavior of coaches involves considering each person’s needs, the potential for player development, and personal assets (Rowold & Schlotz, 2009).

Transformational leaders’ behaviors show concern for, inspire, and even have trust in their players. They also impart significant life lessons, all of which have an impact on the performance of the team (Newlandet al., 2015). According to (Wanget al., 2016), transformational leaders should foster follower creativity through two mechanisms: cognitive and motivational. When leaders desire followers to re-evaluate their presumptions about their work and rethink how it can be accomplished, this is referred to as “intellectual stimulation” (Waldman & Bass, 1991). Through this method, leaders inspire their subordinates to think creatively (Waldman & Bass, 1991). As a result, followers exercise their intellectual curiosity, take into account their imaginations, and come up with novel solutions and distinctive ideas (Stenling & Tafvelin, 2014). When the leader articulates an appealing vision that inspires and motivates others to perform above expectations, this is referred to as inspirational motivation behavior in the coaching style. Inspirational motivational behavior requires encouraging players to raise their consciousness and stimulate their commitment to the mission and vision of the sport (Fogelqvist & Lestander, 2017). A transformational leadership style would inspire players to go above and beyond what is expected of them. This leadership behavior shows respect for one another and instills confidence among the athletes. The leaders involve the athletes in decision-making processes and offer them the chance to be creative.

Coaches have a significant impact on team performance (Machet al., 2022), and they encourage team characteristics such as strong interdependence, collective identity, the need to establish a shared purpose, and organized communication and decision-making processes (Barker & Gower, 2010). Therefore, the inspirational behaviors of the leaders and their enthusiasm to work with their athletes to find solutions are more applicable in sports environments. Transformational leadership behavior is a useful tool for understanding how a coach affects the athletes under his or her care (Ogolaet al., 2017) because it emphasizes the link between the coach and the team as well as the coach-athlete relationship in the context of sports (Hoptionet al., 2014). This new leadership coaching behavior is concerned with helping athletes’ development, instilling pride, studying game plans, and motivating them to put the team’s needs ahead of their own. The coach’s transformational leadership has increased athletes’ levels of personal satisfaction. Therefore, if athletes believe in their coaches’ leadership style, they will be competent and satisfied.

In modern football, whether for young athletes or adults, managing a player is becoming more difficult (Kaoet al., 2021). Therefore, a coach is someone who finds ways to help their team and is full of confidence, strength, and contentment. They encourage their players to be satisfied by creating opportunities to face new challenges. In both leagues of football clubs, the current study supports the significant impact of transformational leadership on soccer players’ satisfaction. In this study, athlete satisfaction in the National League’s mean score was lower than in the Super Leagues, which showed a significant difference in scores. The athletes were satisfied with their coaches’ leadership actions in their assessment. This demonstrates how a coach’s inspirational techniques and tactics can affect how happy soccer players are on football teams.

The way the soccer players are treated personally is evidence that the coach’s actions have an impact on the players’ soccer ability. Through the cohesiveness of the soccer players on football teams, a coach can have an impact on the players. The intention of the study was to examine to what extent coaches’ leadership styles can raise player satisfaction in football clubs. Therefore, the study’s findings showed that the soccer players were satisfied with the transformational leadership styles of the coaching approach in both football leagues. Therefore, transformational coaching behavior has a significant impact on player satisfaction at soccer clubs. The study’s conclusions confirm that transformational leadership styles of coaches positively and significantly influence the players’ satisfaction through idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration factors for each soccer player in their respective football clubs.

An idealized influencer-leader becomes a role model and leads by example, and this includes modeling ethically desirable behaviors. Inspirational motivation: leaders communicate a vision of the future that inspires the followers and thus contributes to the leader’s elevated expectations of his or her followers. Intellectual stimulation: a leader challenges followers to be innovative and creative. Leaders encourage followers to think things out, challenge assumptions, and take risks. Individualized consideration: a leader recognizes the follower’s needs, both personal and psychological. This creates a strong relationship and offers support.

High-performance expectations that a leader communicates to his followers are a transformative leadership strategy for sports. By encouraging followers to work together toward a single objective, transformational leaders promote acceptance of group goals. This leadership behavior model also encourages teamwork because a leader fosters team cohesion and has an impact on interpersonal relationships. It is also acceptable to practice role modeling since a leader sets an example and becomes a role model. This includes exhibiting morally admirable conduct. Contingent rewards are still another way a leader might give encouragement in exchange for proper performance.

High performance expectations, developing acceptance of group goals and boosting teamwork, suitable role modeling, and contingent compensation were all included when it was further developed as a leadership model for sport (Callowet al., 2009). The body of knowledge regarding transformative leadership in sports has grown recently. In high-performance athletic settings, several incredibly intriguing discoveries and case studies have been made. The improvement of intrinsic motivation and need fulfillment has been demonstrated to improve the welfare of athletes. It has also been connected to cohesiveness within the team and intra-team communication. It has been demonstrated to have a good impact on athletes’ intrinsic motivation (internally driven behavior), which has a variety of positive effects, including improving performance. Building relationships with athletes and assisting them in reaching their greatest potential are essential components of transformational leadership (Arthuret al., 2017; Callowet al., 2009).

Conclusion

The study’s findings support the following conclusions:

1. The idealized influence of a coach has a great influence on soccer players’ satisfaction.
2. The intellectual stimulation and individualized consideration of a coach’s transformational leadership behavior have a moderately significant impact.
3. The inspirational motivation of a coach also has a low influence on athletes’ satisfaction.

According to the aforementioned result, a coach’s transformational leadership style has a big impact on how satisfied soccer players are in both leagues of football teams. The results of the study demonstrated a positive relationship between coaches’ and players’ satisfaction with their respective football teams. The independent sample t-test results revealed that there was a difference in the leadership styles of football clubs in both leagues. In terms of the satisfaction of soccer players, there was a statistically significant difference between the two leagues of football clubs, with the Super League mean score being higher than the National League football clubs.

Thus, based on the findings, the researchers recommend for concerned bodies and future study directions: The Ethiopian Football Federation and other regional football federations may consider the necessity of a transformational coaching and leadership style to increase the satisfaction of soccer players in their respective clubs. Coaches in the Super and National Leagues may consider a coach’s transformational leadership style’s charismatic (idealized influence) factor to increase the satisfaction of soccer players in their clubs. This study found that soccer players’ satisfaction was significantly impacted by charismatic leadership, hence the need to maximize this factor in the coaches’ profession. Both leagues of coaches may reconsider their intellectual stimulation and individual consideration of transformational leadership factors in order to improve soccer players’ satisfaction with their football teams.

The factors were moderately significant for soccer players’ satisfaction. In Super League and National League football clubs, the inspirational motivation factor has little effect on players’ satisfaction. Therefore, coaches may review their leadership styles at their respective football clubs. According to the study’s findings, the coaches may be reconsidering the differences in leadership styles between football clubs in the National and Super Leagues. Finally, in terms of the satisfaction of soccer players, Super League football clubs show significantly more transformative coaching and leadership approaches than National League football clubs.

Limitations of the Study and Future Research Directions

Transformational coaching leadership style is a new paradigm of leadership style that has not yet been fully developed in sports organizations. Therefore, the transformational coaching leadership style needs more in-depth inquiry to satisfy related literature on transformational leadership styles because it has not been studied deeply in sports organizations in Ethiopia. In the future, the researchers may consider soccer academy players in their future studies. Finally, in a future research project, the researchers should pay attention to the influence of transformative coaching styles on soccer players’ contentment, and the study methodology should integrate qualitative (in-depth interviews) and quantitative methods as well.