ERC for research into the social and political aspects of sports migration
UvA anthropologist Niko Besnier received an ERC Advanced Grant for his research into the consequences of sports migration.
For countries with no appreciable economy, such as Tonga, and countries with developing economies, such as Nigeria, athletes are important ‘export products’. UvA anthropologist Niko Besnier received an ERC Advanced Grant for his research into the consequences of sports migration for the athletes themselves, their families, their friends and their countries of origin.
Besnier came upon the idea for his research while doing field work in Tonga for his book On the Edge of Global (Stanford University Press, 2011). Tonga is a country without a real economy whose revenues are derived almost exclusively from remittances sent by nationals working abroad in sectors such as cleaning and catering. In other words, low-paid (and often low-status) jobs. ‘And then both the Tongans and their government suddenly realised there was something Tonga excelled at: sports. And rugby in particular. Given the important place sports hold in the West, a new perspective immediately opened up for the country: the export of athletes. It was then that I wondered: what will this development mean for the athletes themselves, those close to them, their communities and their countries? And how will moving to another country affect their sense of “belonging”? What does belonging mean for the host countries, who invest so much in “home teams” that are made up of migrants?’
Colonialism
Anyone who has seen the film Ajax daar hoorden zij engelen zingen knows that the draw of young talented footballers from, for example, Africa almost smacks of a type of colonialism. Besnier emphasises that, while his research will certainly not ignore the more negative aspects of sports migration, his aim is to paint a complete picture of this phenomenon, one that includes both the good and the bad.
Migration is not only northward
While many people think of sports migration as a movement from the South to the North, Besnier has observed a shift. ‘For some time now, athletes have not been drawn exclusively to typical Western destinations such as the US, northwest Europe and Australia. Turkey, for example, has become the main destination for many athletes from Africa. Moreover, that first move from, for example, Africa to Turkey often leads to transfers to other clubs in other countries.’ To obtain a comprehensive picture of sports migration, Besnier wants to conduct research in a number of sending and receiving ‘country pairs’, such as Nigeria and Spain (soccer), Argentina and Italy (soccer), Tonga, Samoa, Fiji and Great Britain (rugby) and India, Pakistan and Great Britain (cricket).
Imbalance between the genders
An important and striking aspect of Besnier’s research is masculinity and, in particular, the vulnerability of men. ‘Sport is largely a male phenomenon – most people involved in top-level sports are male, the athletes themselves, the sports journalists, the supporters… But at the same time there is a worldwide crisis involving men and masculinity. In poor countries such as Tonga it is the women who are excelling. They are getting themselves educated, they have jobs, they are becoming the country’s new intellectual elite. It is primarily young men who are at risk of being squeezed out and a new imbalance is emerging between the genders. Sports migration might appear to be a way of addressing this imbalance: after all, it does provide young men with new opportunities. On the other hand, we have to remember that careers in sports are often short lived and, moreover, are reserved for a very small minority. I would like to find out what the departure of young talented men means for the women in the sending countries and for the men that remain behind.’
The meaning of sport
The anthropologist wishes to achieve a number of objectives with his research. First of all, he wants to demonstrate the significant impact sports have on people: on the athletes themselves, their families, their countries of origin and their host countries. Furthermore, he would like to change our standard view of the unskilled and unqualified migrant by adding new insights. After all, through their visibility, popularity and high earning power, athletes occupy a very different position than the classic low-paid and low-status migrant worker. Besnier also hopes his research will cast a new light on the phenomenon of globalisation since sports migration and sports mobility are proof that globalisation is a lot more than migration from South to North, from poor to rich. ‘It is much more a continuous exchange of people between all kinds of various countries.’
The research project, which will commence in 2013, will last a total of five years and will be conducted by Niko Besnier himself (as project leader), two postdoctoral fellows and a number of doctoral candidates.