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Description
This paper addresses the issue of mobilities in football, dwelling specifically on African footballers’ migration to Portugal. In the last twenty years, foreign players in Portugal at the highest levels have always outnumbered national players. In fact, Portugal is a country of football migrations, both inflows and outflows. Given the structural characteristics of Portuguese football, namely the competitive dimension and the financial capacity of the clubs, foreign players who immigrate to Portugal are generally characterized by less professional experience, and many of them see Portuguese football as a form of privileged access to other European markets and championships. Taking a relational approach, this paper discusses African football players’ mobility, setting the theme in the distinction between trafficking in football and trafficking through football. Based on qualitative data collected within the scope of a European project on the integration of African players in Europe, this paper raises the issue of power networks that are established in the country of origin and in the host country; the recruitment structures of these players; the motivations to migrate; and finally, the ways of coping with failed projects due to the impossibility of succeeding in the highly competitive world of football.
