Joseph Maguire

The global sports arena: athletic talent migration in an interdependent world.

Athletes are on the move. In some sports this involves labour, movement from one country to another within or between continents. In other sports, athletes assume an almost nomadic migratory lifestyle, constantly on the move from one sport festival to another. In addition, it appears that sport migration is gaining momentum and that it is closely interwoven with the broader process of global sport development taking place in the late twentieth century.

BORDER CROSSINGS Soccer Labour Migration and the European Union

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, Europes 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.

Power and global sport: zones of prestige, emulation and resistance

This paper examines the current state of play in global sport – examining the rifts and tensions and the elements of cohesion and co-operation evident. This assessment is conducted through the lens of a process sociological perspective. In addition, the key elements of this approach to globalization, civilising processes, international relations and global sport are mapped out. Questions of power, established – outsider relations and global civilizational encounters are central to the approach outlined.

BLADE RUNNERS: CANADIAN MIGRANTS, ICE HOCKEY, AND THE GLOBAL SPORTS PROCESS:

This article maps the development of British ice hockey and the role of Canadian migrants in the sport. The process is not new but has gathered momentum during the 1980s. Three areas are considered: the extent of involvement, the contested nature of this involvement, and the types of experience involved for the migrants themselves. Canadian ice hockey experiences are discussed in the light of a sport migrant typology: pioneers, settlers, mercenaries, returnees, and nomadic cosmopolitans. Local and global issues in sport labor migration are also highlighted. Questions of labor rights, gender relations, host/donor contacts, and personal/cultural identity are assessed. The data sources include the official records of the world governing body (International Ice Hockey Federation), interviews, ice hockey journals, and media reports.

The impact of elite labour migration on the identification, selection and development of European soccer players

In this study, we examined sociocultural aspects of the identification, selection and development of elite soccer players as part of wider processes of globalization, particularly worker migration. Patterns of migration were identified among the 704 players who comprised the national squads of the 32 nations contesting the finalsof the 1998 World Cup in France.An analysis of the migration patterns within and between the six Confederations into which member nations of FIFA are grouped established the European Federation (UEFA) as soccers core economy. The study is subsequently focused on Europe and, in particular, upon the import strategies of clubs in the four most popular destination countries - England, Germany, Italy and Spain. It is argued that, in light of European Union deregulation of worker migration between member states and, in particular, the Bosman judgement, European soccer is being reshaped. The identification and selection of elite players are producing migrant patterns that are seen increasingly to impact upon indigenous player development and, potentially, the viability and success of national teams. We argue that, although these developments are contoured in part by global economic factors, economic accounts alone do not provide an adequate understanding of them. A series of interrelated economic, political, cultural and social factors is at work. We conclude with a brief outline of the policy implications of the analysis.

Globalisation, Sport And National Identities: “The Empires Strike Back”?

Abstract The issues of national culture, identity and ethnic reassertiveness are located within a discussion of globalization. Attention will be paid to the question of whether national cultures and identities are being weakened, strengthened or pluralized by globalization processes? The reaction to these processes of ethnic groups more wedded to traditional notions of national culture and identity will also be examined. The role which sport plays in this regard is highlighted. The English reaction to the Keating affair and the discourse surrounding the Australia-England clash should be seen in this light. Finally, the role and significance of sport in both the formation of national identity and in globalization processes will be re-examined.

Rite de passage or passage to riches? The motivation and objectives of Nordic/Scandinavian players in English league soccer.

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.

Weltkrieg III? Media Coverage of England Versus Germany in Euro 96

This article examines past and present identity politics issues between England and Germany and considers the role of sport and the media in perpetuating national habitus. A qualitative case study of English and German media coverage of their semifinal match in the 1996 European Football Championships is used to illustrate the key issues. The Eliasian concepts of sleeping memories, imagined charisma, and fantasy shields are employed to construct an account of the current tensions evident in Anglo-German relations, which surface in media reporting of sporting contests. The authors’ findings point to the existence of an agenda based around nostalgia and ethnic assertiveness/defensiveness on the part of the English press, with references to the Second World War and the World Cup victory of 1966. The German press preferred to focus on the contemporary European political situation to assert their superiority over England—and to take further satisfaction from the victorious performance of their football team.

Challenging the sports-industrial complex: human sciences, advocacy and service

This article is an attempt to provide an alternative view of sports science and future sport worlds. For reasons to do with fundamental science, involved advocacy and committed service, and in a period of intensified globalization, it is necessary to reconfigure the nature and scope of teaching and research within the subdiscipline of sports sciences. However, just as the military-industrial complex dominates aspects of broader global processes, and of the academy in particular, advocates of the sports-industrial complex may well seek to thwart such alternative possibilities. As a result, the role of academics will be confined to the production of world and Olympic medals - sports scientists will be the technicians, and student-athletes the cogs, in the machine. In contrast to the performance efficiency ethos, a human development model is advocated.

Global Festivals Through a National Prism The Global—National Nexus in South Korean Media Coverage of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games

This study investigates the global—national nexus in the media representation of the Olympic Games and examines the ways in which the notions of globalization and Korean nationalism are represented. Attention is paid to the South Korean media coverage of opening and closing ceremonies of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. While globalization was promoted through themes such as global friendship and fraternity, the media also framed the event with reference to anti-Japanese sentiments and an expression of unitary Korea nationalism — both of which are central elements of Korean nationalism. On this basis, it is clear that a complex interplay between the global and the national impetus is evident. The media coverage is investigated in a qualitative manner, and a thematic analysis is used. The research, from a process sociological perspective, offers a useful insight into understanding Korean national identity politics in the global era.