Players as Merchandise

Abstract

This paper analyzes data collected between 2000 and 2011 by the Swedish National Sport Association. One soccer player per day leaves Sweden to try their luck with teams in different countries, both as amateurs and professionals. This totals over 3,000 players per decade. The aims of this paper will be to study the migration at the transfer market from Sweden to other countries abroad, specifically in the first decade of the 21st century. This will include how many players migrate and to what countries. I will also analyze the data to see if there are any geographical patterns related to the migration such as where the player lives in Sweden and to which country the player migrates. I will analyze the data from the theoretical frame of globalization and the phenomena of upcoming workers in sports. After analyzing the data, I found that amateur players tend to move to regions closer to home. Also, more amateur players migrate than professionals (70% vs. 30%). More than 30% of the professional players leaving Sweden are from three of the largest cities in Sweden. A total of 3,149 players left in the last decade from 873 different clubs. Lastly, from my perspective, there are still many areas to be explored in this sports arena