Inequality in Brazilian basketball: the birthplace effect

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the birthplace effect in Brazilian basketball athletes of both sexes according their states and geographical regions. Our hypothesis is that the São Paulo (SP) state is the leading player in the Southeastern region and stands out from the other regions. The birthplace of Brazilian athletes participating in the FIBA World Cup and in two national leagues were collected from open-access websites. Three hundred and fifteen athletes’ birthplaces were included. The absolute and relative frequencies of athletes’ birthplaces per state and geographical region were calculated. Chi-Square tests were used to compare the expected and the observed frequencies of birthplaces among regions and states. Odds Ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated to indicate the probability of a high-level athlete to be born in a certain region or state. The results completely confirmed our hypothesis, showing higher frequencies of athletes born in the Southeastern region, especially in the SP state. We concluded that the uneven participation in basketball in Brazil is caused by the continental dimensions of the country and the modality historical context. Concentrating basketball clubs on a single region or state (SP) leads to an underuse of the sporting potential in the country.

Beyond the border of the athlete-centered approach: a model to understand runners' performance

“…The geospatial variation associated with the odds to be an elite athlete in specific places has been known as the “birthplace effect” (Smith and Weir, 2020 ; Faria et al, 2021 ; Leite et al, 2021 ; van Nieuwstadt et al, 2021 ). This phenomenon has been largely discussed and investigated in different contexts and/or sports modalities, such as sprinters (Jamaica), soccer players (Brazil), ice hockey (Canada), and endurance running (East Africa) athletes.…”

Formação inicial em Ciências do Esporte: diferenças na trajetória de mulheres e homens durante o percurso formativo de treinadoras(es)

“…Durante a infância os familiares são os principais responsáveis por incentivar e oportunizar a prática esportiva (COB, 2022;GALATTI et al, 2017;MOTTA et al, 2021;REVERDITO et al, 2017), inclusive pela prática diversificada que foi relatada como uma vivência positiva pelas mulheres. Além disso, as baixas expectativas de uma carreira com boas condições financeiras no esporte podem afastar as jovens dessa possibilidade, além da carência de equipes de mulheres nas principais ligas (FARIA et al, 2021;GALATTI et al, 2021;LIMA et al, 2022b).…”

The geography of talent development

“…Likewise, while most researchers focus on birthplace as a conduit to elite athletic success, other studies have noted the influence of one's place of birth on sport dropout [i.e., more likely to drop out of ice hockey if born in cities with 500,000 or more residents; ( 9 )] and participation [i.e., more likely to participate in team and individual sports if born in communities of 10,000–100,000 residents; ( 10 )]. Strengthening the case that birthplace effects are pervasive, this effect has been found in several countries including Canada ( 9 ), United States ( 1 ), Portugal ( 3 ), Israel ( 8 ), Brazil ( 11 ), United Kingdom ( 7 ), and Germany ( 10 ), to name a few.…”

“…As such, researchers have continued to employ other metrics to explore birthplace effects. These include considering proximity to the nearest soccer clubs ( 12 ), the concentration of basketball clubs in a region ( 11 ), and distance to larger cities that house developmental ice hockey teams ( 15 ). These and previously discussed metrics all yield the same conclusions: it evident that one's birthplace influences talent development in sport—even if the key demographic is different across sports and countries.…”