Les frontières de la « libre » circulation dans le football européen : vers une mondialisation des flux de joueurs ?

Abstract

State borders are less and less relevant when determining sovereign territorial limits. However, in terms of peoples’ mobility, even if they are pushed to the periphery of emerging territories, State borders continue to play a crucial role in the controlling and regulation of flows, especially for non-skilled migrants. Our paper focuses on the professional football players’ case. This group is frequently considered as being part of the migratory elite well integrated in the world labour market, for which borders have no more importance. Our article puts forward the existence of spatial logics capable of explaining the magnitude and direction of flows. We show that the flows globalisation is not yet become effective. Thus, it is incorrect to speak of the existence of a global labour market in professional football. If the players’ transfer networks have a tendency toward trans-nationalisation, they continue to be linked to geo-cultural specificities that neither decolonisation, the integrated world economy or the unification of Europe have managed to redraw.

Keywords

• border
• globalisation
• network
• football
• free movement
• flow