Journal of Tourism, Hospitality and Sports www.iiste.org ISSN (Paper) 2312-5187 ISSN (Online) 2312-5179 An International Peer-reviewed Journal Vol.11, 2015 25 The Relationship between Personality Trait and Sport Performance: The Case of National League Football Clubs in Jimma Town, Ethiopia Beniyam Teshome, Dr. Sisay Mengistu, Gemechu Beker Department of Sport Science, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia Abstract The present study is an endeavor to explore the relationship between personality trait and sport performance on Jimm town national league male football players. The population of the study consisted of all Jimma town National league male football players (N=47) and all coaches (N=4) in the 2007 E. C (2014/2015G.C) competition season. The study employed a Cross-sectional design. To the data analysis descriptive co-relational method was employed. Personality was assessed by using the NEO- Five Factor Inventory, and athlete's Sport performance was assessed by coach's rating. Besides, two different questionnaires, on personality trait and Sport performance were used to collect data. Descriptive Statistics were used for assessing the Mean, frequency & SD, a Pearson Product-Moment for correlation analysis and multiple regressions were used to analyze the data obtained. The findings on the personality dimensions and sport performance showed be the multiple regression analysis indicated that from among personality trait only Conscientiousness have positive significant correlation with sport performance (r= .897, P < 0.01). Beside, the result indicated that conscientiousness was the sole predictor of sport performance (b= .566, t= 10.94, p < 0.01). Keywords: National league players, Personality trait and Sport performance, 1. Introduction 1.1 Background of the study Sport psychology has long been making its impact in the field of every sport for many years. Many teams around the world have been utilizing mental techniques in the improvement of athletic performance. One of the aspects of the field is the determination of future performance through the possibility that elite athletes possess personality characteristics that make them successful in their particular sport (Lopez, & Santelices, 2011) And also it has long been attributing successful athletic performance to their personality characteristics. Versari (2004) and Auweele, Cuvpert, Mele, & Rzewnicki, (1993) have concluded that there is a positive relationship between personality and some aspect of athletic performance. It was also thought that a person’s answers on a questionnaire could be used to predict successful performance. As Ministry of Sport of Ethiopia national sport policy, (1993) mentioned that, In Ethiopia, Modern sport has a history of over half a century in this country. Even if much type of games is introduced within this period, but the growth of modern sport is still at the lower level. In the last century, sport and physical activity have earned a great importance in society. With this enhanced awareness, physical, technical and psychological improvements have become priority in sport teams with the intent of making the most of the athlete’s potentiality. In this regard, the known sport sciences such as physiology, biochemistry, medicine, biomechanics, sociology and psychology have been improved, researched and applied in competitive sport (Gould & Weinberg, 2008). Personalities characteristics are traits possessed by individuals and are commonly regarded as “properties of persons that dispose them to react in certain ways in given classes of situations (Anshel, 1997). These traits may define an individual’s future reactions to situations as an athlete’s personality predicts how he or she will perform in future situations. The assessment of such personality characteristics as samples of behaviors could be measured through the use of standardized psychological tools. A consensus has emerged among trait theorists regarding a five-factor model of personality (McCrae, & Costa, 2003; Shrivastava1, Gopal, & Singh 2010). There are many personality tests in existence, but a commonly accepted empirical model in the social sciences is called the Big-Five, or equivalently the Five-Factor Model (FFM) (John, & Soto, 2007). (Piedmont, Hill, & Blanco, 1999) found that the five-factor model of personality could be used to make predictions about the player’s performance in sports. The five-factor model of personality is a very useful tool in assessing individual differences (Singh, & Manoj, 2012). Contemporary research uses the Big Five personality factor model (Extraversion (E), Agreeableness (A), Conscientiousness (C), Neuroticism (N), and Openness (O)) as a reliable and valid measurement for psychological characteristics (Cost & McCrae, 1992) based on the three main reasons. First, the five dimensions are rooted in biology (Jang, McCrae, Angleitner, Riemann, & Livesley 1998). Second, the dimensions are relatively stable throughout life (McCrae, & Costa, 2003), and third, the dimensions are found in several cultures (Benet, & John 2000).