Sports Labour Migration Research Papers (original) (raw)

This study examines the effects of the sport migration that occurred over a 12 year period in the secondary sport of basketball in the Czech Republic, in terms of its effect on the popularity of the sport within the culture. The factors... more

This study examines the effects of the sport migration that occurred over a 12 year period in the secondary sport of basketball in the Czech Republic, in terms of its effect on the popularity of the sport within the culture. The factors of fan attendance and youth membership are isolated and measured quantitatively, using multi-level analysis within teams, between teams and at a federation level. The study was carried out in order to measure the effect of the use of immigrant athletes from an individual team management perspective and from a league growth perspective. It was found that while foreigners displace national athletes, fans were attracted to the use of foreigners and youth were attracted to play the game. The use of foreigners had the most significant correlations at the between team level to home attendance and final placement in the league. Multi-level analysis was used to show that the use of foreigners can be a facilitator for federations and team management to build the popularity of secondary sports in a culture, with certain limitations. This quantitative study of a secondary sport is an addition to the majority of the literature on sport migration, which has been largely conducted on primary sports from a qualitative, sociological perspective.

Research conducted on sports in the last thirty years, which is one of the striking areas of international labor migration, indicates that global sports labor migration in all amateur-professional branches is correlated with the... more

Research conducted on sports in the last thirty years, which is one of the striking areas of international labor migration, indicates that global sports labor migration in all amateur-professional branches is correlated with the capitalist political economic system. Turkey, after initiating the process of articulating into the global capitalist system after the 1980s, has now become one of the target destinations for many players in terms of international athletes’ migration, especially from African countries, including its amateur football clubs. In this report, it is aimed to understand and explain the reasons why Turkey is a preferred country in sports labor migration and the experiences of athletes in the migration processes. In the study, descriptive analysis was conducted on data using literature discussion, newspapers and official web pages of football clubs. Additionally, the primary data obtained from the field research carried out by the researcher with four immigrant athletes in 2009 using the “life history” technique were included in the scope of “experiences of immigrant athletes”. In conclusion, it is revealed that sports labor migrations are not independent from economic political processes and immigration in amateur football is a more “insecure” status.

Social theory is applied to the study of sport migration, whether acknowledged or not. this study attempts to identify the dominant social theories used in the study of sport migration over the past 20 years. Further, the advantages and... more

Social theory is applied to the study of sport migration, whether acknowledged or not. this study attempts to identify the dominant social theories used in the study of sport migration over the past 20 years. Further, the advantages and disadvantages of particular social theories as applied to the type of sport migration being studied are identified.

Drawing on a specific case of the El-Hawwar Sporting Club, located in El-Mansoura, Egypt, the primary intent of this study was to identify variables and key factors that contribute to an effective sport marketing promotional mix, used to... more

Drawing on a specific case of the El-Hawwar Sporting Club, located in El-Mansoura, Egypt, the primary intent of this study was to identify variables and key factors that contribute to an effective sport marketing promotional mix, used to enhance visibility and consumption of products and services of the sport organization. A total of 100 participants completed a questionnaire with questions using a 3-point Likert scale including demographic information to determine the effectiveness of a promotional mix to increase the service consumption of the HSC Sporting Club. The findings
confirm the extraordinary value of a well-chosen promotional mix to increase the visibility and profitability of the touted goods and services. Participants provided several practical recommendations that include a call on today’s sport marketers to invest sufficient time and resources in conducting a thorough market and consumer behavior analysis as a foundation for an effective promotional mix. This study found the use of promotion mixes in Egyptian clubs is still at its infancy and there is a dire need for more research on the topic in the future.

This article aims to discuss one of the phenomena of globalization: the impact of migration on sports, using football players in Turkey as an example. By presenting examples from both national and international sports teams, the growing... more

This article aims to discuss one of the phenomena of globalization: the impact of migration on sports, using football players in Turkey as an example. By presenting examples from both national and international sports teams, the growing number of migrant football players and their role in the capitalist economy is examined as it pertains to sport, as well as how they are treated within that system, economically and legally. The emigration of football players requires a social, economic, political and cultural evaluation. The article is focused on the rights and freedom, civilly and labor-wise, of emigrant football players who are brought to or come to Turkey.

So far, academic contributions have widely framed football in Africa as a means for migration from a western point of view. At a time, they presented particular and one-dimensional understandings of transnational links in the realm of... more

So far, academic contributions have widely framed football in Africa as a means for migration from a western point of view. At a time, they presented particular and one-dimensional understandings of transnational links in the realm of football migration between Africa and Europe. Macro-level perspectives which mostly focus on African exploitation and dependency and more recently those that take the players’ agency into account reproduce a Eurocentric view of the phenomenon, while disregarding its local perceptions in African settings. Thus, despite the recent shift from a macro- to a micro-level perspective there is still an analytical gap between the ambitions and experiences of migrating players and economic power relations at play on the one hand and the socio-cultural embedding of the transnational connections in football migration on the other. In order to understand why and how football mobilities are indeed linked to ‘the transnational’ in migration there is a need to localize the phenomenon and investigate how local understandings of migration and mobility are lived and expressed in a transnational sport like football. By taking data from fieldwork among West African football migrants, the paper thus shows the local embedding of transnational football migration practices in the West African context.

The purpose of this study sought to investigate factors that influence student-athletes' satisfaction with academic services within athletics departments. Additionally , we examined the relationship between student-athletes' satisfaction... more

The purpose of this study sought to investigate factors that influence student-athletes' satisfaction with academic services within athletics departments. Additionally , we examined the relationship between student-athletes' satisfaction and academic performance (i.e., GPA). A total of 226 NCAA Division I student-athletes from a Midwestern university competing in a mid-major conference participated. A survey consisting of 22 questions was created to assess the satisfaction of the four major factors (facilities, staff, tutoring, and advising programs) of academic advising services. Results revealed that student-athletes were satisfied with academic services, but satisfaction differed among class levels, with freshman athletes reporting lower levels of satisfaction than junior and senior athletes. Additional results showed that facilities and staff have significant influences on student-athletes' satisfaction with academic services. Furthermore, there was a significant relationship between student-athletes' satisfaction and GPA. The findings provide partial support for the proposed theoretical model, which suggests that athletics departments should provide adequate, accessible academic facilities and hire properly-trained staff.

The use of foreigners in Czech basketball is examined as per its response to globalization using an analysis of print media. Basketball is a secondary sport in Czech culture and thus the globalization responses are less contested than... more

The use of foreigners in Czech basketball is examined as per its response to globalization using an analysis of print media. Basketball is a secondary sport in Czech culture and thus the globalization responses are less contested than might be expected based on previous sport migration studies in primary sports, and previous research showing Czech homogeny. The study parallels methodology initially outlined by Alan Klein, using a review of print media to study sport globalization; the results from a secondary sport are compared with those observed by Klein in a primary sport. The response to the phenomena of sport migration in the secondary sport of basketball in the semi-periphery country of the Czech Republic is shown to be one of commodification or passive cultural acceptance. This finding differs from the broader observations of rejection of foreigners in Czech identified by others, but is explained by the secondary position of basketball freeing it from ties to nationalism, collective identity and protected space in Czech culture. The cultural response found in Czech basketball also differs to that found in Dominican baseball by Klein, but the patterns of print media coverage demonstrate a high degree of similarity.

African migration to Europe features various practices and pathways. In recent years, football has become one of them, particularly among young men. So far, academic studies have predominantly focused on structural dynamics and have... more

African migration to Europe features various practices and pathways. In recent years, football has become one of them, particularly among young men. So far, academic studies have predominantly focused on structural dynamics and have widely portrayed parts of this phenomenon as a dubious business that contributes to the exploitation of thousands of young migrating players. However, since anthropological research in this context is limited, rather little is known about the players’ actual experiences in this process. Hence, we aim at shifting the perspective and showing a nuanced picture of this phenomenon. By referring to migration biographies of two ambitious (yet rather less successful) African players we investigate both how football migration relates to other forms of South-North migration and in what way it is a sport-specific practice. Given that African football migrants often experience precarious conditions during their journeys yet hold on to the hope to make it as a professional player in Europe, we further look at how the concept of “judicious opportunism” contributes to an understanding of their migration projects.

As the labor force becomes more global in sport, what are the ramifications to marketing the sport, both to fans and to youth to play the game? The shift from teams composed predominantly of players from the home culture to teams... more

As the labor force becomes more global in sport, what are the ramifications to marketing the sport, both to fans and to youth to play the game? The shift from teams composed predominantly of players from the home culture to teams including outsiders creates a necessary concurrent shift in the marketing and promotional strategy of teams. The foreigners are often the stars of the team and can even become the role models within the club, yet their cultural distance makes it necessary to rethink if and how they can be used to grow the game in the city, region and culture. Czech basketball has shown a marked shift not only in the use of foreigners on the court, from 11 across the league in 1998 to 50 in 2010, but also in the use of foreigners in marketing and youth development. How is this exoticism in sport being marketed? By 2011, 71% of teams featured foreigners on their websites, 36% featured them on their media guides, and every team poster observed by the researcher had the face of a black player on it.

Multilevel analysis is used to evaluate the elements which compose fan attendance in Czech basketball. The data set analyzed is comprised of a ten year study of 18 teams which played in the highest Czech basketball league. This study... more

Multilevel analysis is used to evaluate the elements which compose fan attendance in Czech basketball. The data set analyzed is comprised of a ten year study of 18 teams which played in the highest Czech basketball league. This study differs from other demand studies which evaluate fan attendance in that a cultural secondary sport, basketball, is studied in a globally semi-periphery country, the Czech Republic. Previous studies have focused on primary sports in globally core countries. The study shows multilevel analysis to be a useful methodology for demand studies of fan attendance. It was shown that there is a slightly increasing linear tendency in attendance across time. The independent variables of final place and number of foreigners and are measured across time as the time-varying predictors of the dependent variable of fan attendance within teams. The independent variable of hall capacity was considered as the time-invariant predictor of growth rates and attendance initial s...