School institutionalisation in the pedagogical allegory of initiation to football: a case study in La Rioja, Spain

Discussions on the educational potential of school football range from its social acceptance to the pedagogically desirable lessons that can be drawn from it. The aim is to understand the process of institutionalisation in school football and the main formative challenges it entails. An ethnographic multiple case study is presented. The sample consists of 101 schoolchildren of ages six and seven in the autonomous community of La Rioja, Spain. Participant observation, over the course of one academic year, is supplemented by images, interviews and digital social networks to incorporate 21 teachers, 10 coaches and families. The results reveal the construction of an allegorical field among children as they embark upon their path of institutionalisation, with the naivety of their spontaneous play giving way to a form of regulated execution. Institutionalised play exceeds children’s developmental resources. The study promotes an effective adaptation of the game, as well as the prioritisation of pedagogical actions that are complementary to school.