This article investigates the embodied experiences of a group of professional sports labour migrants whose experiences have largely been ignored by sociological literature: southern hemisphere rugby players playing professional rugby league in the United Kingdom. The migrant pathway from Australasia to the UK is well established. Moreover, rugby league is a sport in which debate concerning the merits of employing labour migrants from Australasia is prevalent and ongoing. The study used interview and questionnaire data to investigate the embodied experiences facing this group of migrant professionals. Migrant experiences prior to migrating were contoured by access to resources and by the formal and informal relationships developed through professional and personal careers. The embodied and complex nature of contractual negotiations is highlighted. The centrality of embodied migrant identity and habitus is noted in relation to acculturation strategies adopted over time and space, both prior to and during a foreign sojourn, in terms of established and outsider groups. The paper also highlights how subgroups within a more general group of labour migrants can emerge. Furthermore, the complex influence of personal and professional relationships was found to be both enabling and constraining. These differences between subgroups are considered in light of previous work on acculturation strategies and the existential nature of migration. Future research requirements in the sports labour migration field are suggested.
A bstractThis research probes the more recent features of the long term migration phenomenon with particular reference to the overseas migrant in English cricket. This migration is part of a broader process of sports labour migration. The rules and regulations governing migrant access to English cricket were investigated and the extent and form of overseas migration established. The range of donor countries reflects both the spread of cricket and the strong British colonial influence. Interviews with a sample of players focused on personal and professional objectives, their employment negotiations and conditions, their personal and professional adjustments and their sense of cultural and national identity. English cricket is the 'global finishing school'. Migration was viewed as a logical step for professional development. Loneliness and insecurity figured highly. Questions of attachment to place, notions of self identity and allegiance to a specific country emerged as important elements in the experience of cricket migrants. The paper concludes with a more detailed discussion of the issue of identity, cricket and sports labour migration.The Warwick staff is a cricket League of Nations, but the Birmingham public, nurtured on the liberal transfer system of soccer, will not worry where their cricket favourites come from so long as they play attractively and win matches (Frazer, 1950, p. 91).Insightful though these comments may be with regard to the motivation of spectators, the migration of foreign players to English cricket retlects less the composition of the old League of Nations and more the make-up of the former British Empire. Nevertheless, given that these observations were made in the 1950 edition of Wisden, this suggests that cricket migration to some far pavilion is certainly nothing new.' Indeed, migrants from a diverse range of countries have been part of English club (county) cricket for over a centurV.2Here, however, we intend to probe the more recent features of this phenomenon. In doing so, we emphasise that this migration is but part of a broader process of sports labour migration Maguire, 1994a). In focusing on contemporary cricket migration, several interconnected elements are examined. These include: (i) the personal and professional objectives and motivation of present day migrant cricketers; (ii) their employment negotiations and conditions; (iii) the personal and professional adjustments they have to make; (iv) the players' sense of cultural and national identity. Such elements have, in turn, to be considered in the context of the attitudes in English cricket towards migration and the policy and regulation
This paper introduces the controversial topic of the international movement of sport labour and explains its significance for the understanding of modern sport develop ment. Specific emphasis is placed on the impact of sport labour migration on the maintenance and development of sporting talent pipelines in both host and donor countries. The motives and objectives of the migrant athletes themselves provide a central focus. Reference is made to the historical development of cricket migration, the cases for and against and the steps taken to facilitate or restrict such movement. Player directory based quantitative analysis reveals the size and complexity of the practice, and interviews with migrant players offer insights into the athlete's experience.
This paper examines the high-profile and increasingly frequent international movement of elite players in association football, with a particular focus on migration involving the countries of the European Union and UEFA, Europe's soccer confederation. The complex patterns and structures that characterize the player movements are mapped out and analysed. The global political economy of soccer is examined with specific reference to the European Court of Justice freedom of movement rulings in the Bosman case. The principal data sources are FIFA transfer certificates and player directories. Consideration is given to the interweaving and impact of both broad societal and soccerspecific processes on migrant patterns. The analysis of soccer migration provides insights into both labour migration in other sports and moves towards increased labour mobility in Europe and greater European integration.
This article focuses on the movement of Nordic/Scandinavian players into English professional soccer. The frequency and form of this sport labor migration is mapped out from season 1946/1947. The presence of these migrants in England has increased considerably during the 1990s. Interview and questionnaire data provide insights into the migrant’s motivation and objectives, migration preparation, and choice of England as a destination. The impact of migration on family relationships is highlighted. Particular personal and professional characteristics of the Nordic/Scandinavian soccer migrant are examined. These players’ experiences and views are considered in the context of a sport migrant typology and the emergence of global professional migration more generally.
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