From Coach Knowledge to Burnout: The Sequential Mediating Roles of Psychological Capital and Coach-Athlete Relationship Quality in Elite Football

Background: Coach burnout is increasingly recognized as a critical issue in high-performance sport, yet existing research has focused primarily on situational stressors and coaching outcomes, with limited attention to the upstream cognitive resources that may protect coaches’ psychological wellbeing. The present study examined how different forms of coach knowledge are translated into burnout outcomes through psychological and relational mechanisms in elite football coaching contexts. Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was employed with a sample of 221 high-level football coaches holding Asian Football Confederation B-level licences or above. After data screening and removal of multivariate outliers, 215 cases were retained for analysis. Coach knowledge was operationalised as professional–interpersonal knowledge and intrapersonal knowledge. Psychological capital, coach–athlete relationship quality, and coach burnout were assessed using validated instruments. Covariance-based structural equation modelling was conducted using a two-step approach, comprising confirmatory factor analysis followed by structural model testing. Indirect effects were examined using bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5,000 resamples and 95% confidence intervals. Results: Both dimensions of coach knowledge were positively associated with psychological capital. Psychological capital, in turn, was positively related to coach–athlete relationship quality. The direct paths from coach knowledge to burnout were not significant. However, significant indirect effects emerged through a sequential mediation pathway in which coach knowledge predicted burnout via psychological capital and coach–athlete relationship quality. The final structural model demonstrated acceptable fit indices, supporting the proposed cognitive–psychological–relational mechanism linking coach knowledge to burnout. Conclusions: Findings indicate that coach knowledge contributes to lower burnout risk indirectly by fostering psychological capital and enhancing the quality of coach–athlete relationships. These results highlight the importance of viewing coach knowledge not only as a performance-related resource but also as a foundation for coaches’ psychological resilience and relational functioning. Coach education and professional development programmes may benefit from integrating psychological and interpersonal components alongside technical knowledge to support coach wellbeing in high-performance sport.