Sport, Labour, and Migration

This chapter offers a discussion around some of the general features of sport labour migration research. In doing so, the treatment draws on general migration literature and contemporary events to demonstrate the current significance of migrations. The focus then shifts to issues in sport labour migrations research, including: the existing gaps between general and sport migration research and the need for broadening the sport array of migration research, moving towards interdisciplinary approaches and reconsidering traditional, western-based research practices. The next section offers an overview of key theoretical approaches present in this area of research, focusing on Marxism, Cultural Studies, Process Sociology and Transnational Mobility. Each theoretical approach is considered in relation to their classical roots and sport labour migration. This is followed by a section that explores debates around the history, role and limitations of migratory typologies. Here an observation is made that there are advantages to engaging with general migration typologies to enhance sport research, whilst acknowledging the limitations of ideal-typical representations. The concluding section offers a brief summary of the chapter and a recommendation for researchers interested in sport labour migration regarding the importance of continually revisiting their own and others’ work and reflecting on the pertinence and meaning of the research they do.