This study aims to demonstrate the importance of after-school football training in the socialization and integration process of primary school students. Method: Fifty primary school students were randomly assigned to an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group underwent a systematic and planned 9-week after-school football training intervention, while the control group continued with their normal school activities and did not participate in regular physical exercise during the same period. The sociometric method was employed, with pre-test and post-test questionnaires completed to compile interpersonal relationship matrices, indices related to personal status, and interpersonal relationship analysis charts for both groups. Results: Analysis of the group relationships within the experimental and control groups revealed that the two groups had the same level of cohesion pre-test. Post-test, the cohesion index of the experimental group increased, transforming from a weakly cohesive group to a strongly cohesive group. In contrast, the cohesion index of the control group remained unchanged, staying as a weakly cohesive group. There was a significant difference in the cohesion index between pre-test and post-test within the experimental group (p < 0.05), and a significant difference was also observed between the experimental and control groups post-test (p < 0.05). The research findings indicate that after-school football training has a positive impact on the socialization and integration process of primary school students.
Li et al. (Thu,) studied this question.