Football Talent Migration from Africa and Brazil to Europe: The Portuguese Case
Football Talent Migration from Africa and Brazil to Europe: The Portuguese Case
The migration of football labour into Western Europe has increased dramatically over the last two decades with much of this flow stemming from Africa and South America. This process has been hugely significant for the football industry in both the receiving and sending continents and has repercussions that extend far beyond sport and popular culture. The significance of football talent migration has recently been recognised as an important focus of scholarly research, internationally and across a range of academic disciplines and this has led to an emerging body of literature (Darby 2000; McGovern 2002; Magee & Sugden, 2002; Bale, 2004; Poli, 2006; Darby 2007a, 2007b; Alvito 2007; Darby, Akindes and Kirwin, 2007; Tiesler & Coelho, 2007).
This project aims to contribute with unique, comparative and empirically rich analysis to the developing research field and to the state-of-the-art in studies in International Migration, by comparing the migration of football talents, labour, and underage players, respectively, with three types of international migration, namely: brain-drain (here "muscle-drain"), labour and children´s migration (incl. trafficking).
Through field studies we will examine a number of migratory pathways, namely: Brazil to Portugal, Denmark and Germany; Lusophone Africa to Portugal; West Africa to Denmark and Germany. These are well-trodden routes in the international migration of football players. To further enhance our understanding of the ‘push' and ‘pull' factors that impact on the decisions of football migrants, this project also examines the role of South Africa as a conduit through which African players migrate to European countries. Thus, the research question is: What are the causes and consequences of football migration into a Northern, Central, and Southern European country from main sending countries in Africa and South America? This question is underpinned by a series of more specific cross-cutting questions:
Football Talent Migration, Africa-Brazil-Europe-Portugal, 4-Country-Team, Comparative Analysis of 4 Case Studies
The migration of football labour into Western Europe has increased dramatically over the last two decades with much of this flow stemming from Africa and South America. This process has been hugely significant for the football industry in both the receiving and sending continents and has repercussions that extend far beyond sport and popular culture. The significance of football talent migration has recently been recognised as an important focus of scholarly research, internationally and across a range of academic disciplines and this has led to an emerging body of literature (Darby 2000; McGovern 2002; Magee & Sugden, 2002; Bale, 2004; Poli, 2006; Darby 2007a, 2007b; Alvito 2007; Darby, Akindes and Kirwin, 2007; Tiesler & Coelho, 2007).
This project aims to contribute with unique, comparative and empirically rich analysis to the developing research field and to the state-of-the-art in studies in International Migration, by comparing the migration of football talents, labour, and underage players, respectively, with three types of international migration, namely: brain-drain (here "muscle-drain"), labour and children´s migration (incl. trafficking).
Through field studies we will examine a number of migratory pathways, namely: Brazil to Portugal, Denmark and Germany; Lusophone Africa to Portugal; West Africa to Denmark and Germany. These are well-trodden routes in the international migration of football players. To further enhance our understanding of the ‘push' and ‘pull' factors that impact on the decisions of football migrants, this project also examines the role of South Africa as a conduit through which African players migrate to European countries. Thus, the research question is: What are the causes and consequences of football migration into a Northern, Central, and Southern European country from main sending countries in Africa and South America? This question is underpinned by a series of more specific cross-cutting questions:
