Abstract

Elite African players are a major group in the growing international football talent market, especially in Europe. Through qualitative interviews, this study examined the coping strategies and adaption practices of two West African athletes in the process of transition into German football and society. Examining the players’ narrative through the interpretive biography approach, the findings highlighted subjective adaptive and coping practices, as well as the role of the structures of talent development systems. The strategies included both problem-focussed and emotion-focussed strategies, namely training in a European-modelled football system, culture learning, multilocal belonging, rationalisation and acceptance of circumstance, reconstitution of self-identity, and social support. The key contributions demonstrate the impact of West African football academies on the experience of transnational migration, and the ways a transnational African athlete may redefine his conception of self to make sense of his experiences.

摘要

非洲精英球员是不断增长的国际足球人才市场的主要群体，尤其是在欧洲。通过定性访谈，本研究考察了两名西非运动员在进入德国足球和社会的过程中的应对策略和适应实践。通过解释性传记方法检查球员的叙述，研究结果强调了主观适应和应对实践，以及人才发展系统结构的作用。这些策略包括以问题为中心和以情感为中心的策略，即欧洲模式足球体系的训练、文化学习、多本地归属感、合理化和接受环境、重建自我认同和社会支持。