This study examines how coaches, athletes and managers influence and reproduce cultural expectations of performance within their teams, and how athletes respond to these expectations. Methodologically, the study is based on qualitative interviews with athletes, coaches and managers within two Scandinavian elite football clubs. Using a Foucauldian perspective on power, the analysis shows how coaches and managers normalise athlete sacrifice, discomfort and conformity within team culture, setting high performance standards that athletes internalise and help to sustain. Importantly, athletes are monitored and disciplined into particular behaviours, though paradoxically, these disciplinary practices often inhibit their ability to meet performance standards fully. Additionally, results highlight how recruitment practices pre-screen for cultural compatibility, laying a foundation for maintaining discipline and cohesion. The findings provide insights into how disciplinary power operates within elite sports environments, shaping behaviours, attitudes and beliefs that may prove detrimental to athlete health.
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