Football labour migration: an examination of the player recruitment strategies of the ‘big five’ European football leagues 2004–5 to 2008–9

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the player acquisition trends of the ‘big five’ European professional football leagues (English Premier League, Ligue 1, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga) between the seasons 2004–5 and 2008–9. Specifically, the study differentiates between the presence and impact of indigenous home-grown players, non-indigenous home-grown players and foreign players within the respective leagues. Official player directories provided information on a number of player and club variables including nationality, FIFA affiliation, league, club, primary playing position and appearances. Data was coded, analysed and presented using descriptive statistics. The results indicate an increasing level of football player migration between nation states located in different confederations. The dominant migrants outside of the UEFA confederation originate from South America and Africa. Although indigenous home-grown player numbers were decreasing (slightly), four of the five leagues remained indigenously dominant with the German Bundesliga being the only league that possessed more foreign players than indigenous home-grown players. It was noted that the propensity to adopt such global player recruitment strategies may result in the big five European leagues becoming dependent development states. Such a dependency will be more extreme in those countries that fail to invest in indigenous home-grown player development strategies.