Migration und Sport

Thiel, Ansgar; Seiberth, Klaus

doi:10.1007/978-3-658-20773-1_16-1

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Taking this direction, sport clubs can be spaces for positive encounters to foster development within resettlement (Seiberth et al, 2018). These structures should, however, be aware that positive outcomes are context-dependent and integrative results are not granted (Krouwel et al, 2006; Smith et al, 2019; Thiel and Seiberth, 2020), particularly when the user group, in this case refugees, has a high interest in the competitive dimension of sport (Sterchele, 2015; Stone, 2018). Yet, even when their professional ambitions had subsided, refugees wanted to retain their involvement in competitive football due to their perceived associated benefit.…”

Section: Conclusion and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Yet refugees and football also share a complicated link, with the sport also being a characterizing element of conflict and practices of persecution (Cable, 1969;Armstrong and Rosbrook-Thompson, 2012). Despite the existence of scientific results that partly confirm sport's integrative power, its role in this context can neither be taken for granted nor unequivocally accepted (Krouwel et al, 2006;Smith et al, 2019;Thiel and Seiberth, 2020;Waardenburg et al, 2019). Moreover, the integration of elite athletes in the sport system has similarities to labour market integration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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‘Refugee footballers’: A socioecological exploration of forced migrants in the Italian and German elite football system

Norrito

Giulianotti

Mason

et al. 2023

International Review for the Sociology of Sport

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Against the background of the recent European ‘refugee crisis’ and its long-term consequences, this article investigates the research question ‘how do footballers with a refugee background experience the process of accessing top-level football?’, using ethnographic material and interviews with competitive footballers with a refugee background in Italy and Germany from two studies. The material was examined using qualitative content analysis and interpreted through the ecological systems theory. The results show that inclusion to professional football is complex for refugee footballers who are faced with the additional hurdles and consequences of a forced migration. Moreover, refugees build their networks within the process of resettlement, without a clear path for inclusion to elite football. Those who ‘make it’ have relied on key enablers within their microsystem and on mesosystemic interactions, further emphasizing the importance of networks for professional development. In contrast, exosystemic and macrosystemic factors further hinder the possibility of a sport career in football, on top of the existing difficulties of a forced migration. The process of seeking inclusion in competitive football however has been identified as a positive element that can provide direction in resettlement and opportunities for socialisation.

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