Glocal boys

Exploring experiences of acculturation amongst migrant youth footballers in Premier League academies

Dados Bibliográficos

ID2378041
AutoresGavin Weedon (0000-0001-7673-8587, Southampton Solent University, autor correspondente)
Ano2012
Volume47
Fascículo2
Páginas200-216
Data de publicação2012-04-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Review for the Sociology of Sport (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1012-6902 • E-ISSN: 1461-7218
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1012690211399221
OpenAlexW2086832128
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas29
Referências citadas24

This article explores the experiences of acculturation recounted by migrant youth footballers following their migrations to Premier League academies. Whereas problems of acculturation have been documented in research exploring the migratory experiences of senior professional athletes, the framing of migrant youth footballers as a problematic collective in academic, public and media discourse has tended to deflect from consideration of the individual athletes in transition. By drawing on a series of interviews with migrant youth players from a range of cultural and ethnic backgrounds and their 'acculturating groups' ( Ward et al., 2001 ) of academy staff including Directors, Managers, Coaches and Education and Welfare Officers, I aim to explore the prevalent issues of acculturation associated with being at once a migrant, an adolescent, and an elite athlete, adjusting to the demands of an intensive physical training programme whilst encountering and negotiating an unfamiliar social and cultural environment. In conceptualizing the process of acculturation as the experiential facet of the glocalization thesis, the article reflects on the interplay between the distinct political economy within which youth players migrate and their individual experiences of acculturation

Acculturation · Elite · Framing (construction · Glocalization · Sociology of sport · Physical Education and Pedagogy · Sport and Mega-Event Impacts · Sports, Gender, and Society