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The global success of football icons like Samuel Eto’o, Didier Drogba and Mohamed Salah has fuelled the migratory projects of countless young men across the African continent who dream of following in their footsteps. Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic research, the book chronicles the experiences and trajectories of those pursuing this highly prized form of transnational migration. This book uncovers and traces the myriad actors, networks and institutions that affect the ability of young people across the continent to realise social mobility through football’s global production network.
The book sheds critical light on the barriers to social mobility erected by neoliberal capitalism, and how these are negotiated. It also generates original interdisciplinary perspectives on the complex interplay between structural forces and human agency, as young players navigate an industry rife with commercial speculation.
Shortlisted for the British Society of Sports History’s Lord Aberdare Literary Prize 2023
Honourable Mention - North American Society for the Sociology of Sport Outstanding Book Award 2023
'This discussion of a key element of the global labour market in contemporary sport manages to both straddle complex disciplinary boundaries - sociology, geography, and anthropology - to present a well historicised, sharply insightful analysis of football migration, mainly from West Africa, in the last two decades.' - NASSS Outstanding Book Award 2023 Judges statement
'Well-researched and meticulously written [...] Provides some much-needed oxygen to the study of African migration.'
Jesper Bjarnesen, International Migration Review
‘The book makes important contributions to football migration and African youth studies literature. It pioneers an integrated approach that analyses African football migration at the macro, meso and micro levels’.
Ikechukwu Ejekwumadu, European Journal of Sport and Society
'Essential reading for those interested in the sociology, geography, management, and anthropology of sport.' Elizabeth White, H-Migration (H-Net Network on the global history of migration)
'Ultimately, this book is a must-read for anyone interested in migration, football, Africa, or the continued relationships between African states and European colonial rule and neocolonialism.'
Atticus Williams, Fordham University, African Studies Quarterly, Volume 22, Issue 2|April 2024
Introduction
1 Theorising African football migration
2 The history, geography and regulation of African football migration
3 ‘Producing’ African labour for the global football industry
4 Speculation in and through football migration
5 ‘Becoming a somebody’ through football
6 Luck, sackings and involuntary immobility in football
7 Navigating liminality in foreign football industries
8 Hope and precarity in transnational football careers
9 Post-playing-career transitions and struggles
Conclusion
Index