Exploring the return migration experience of football migrants: a case study of Ghanaian footballers

ABSTRACT

This paper extends the literature on return migration by exploring the return decisions and reintegration process of Ghanaian football migrants into the Ghanaian society. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 10 football migrants, we examine their motivations for eventual return, life after return, their challenges and contribution to their country of origin. We adopt the structural approach on return migration as the conceptual framework. Findings show that Ghanaian football migrants return due to their attachment to Ghana, a desire to be with family and a willingness to contribute in a meaningful way toward development in Ghana despite challenges experienced upon return.

KEYWORDS:

• Football migrants
• return migration
• Ghana
• return experience

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. We use the term football as broadly identified with the European literature as consisting of the sports between 11 players of two teams. This is commonly referred to as soccer in the North American context.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Emmanuel Kyeremeh

Emmanuel Kyeremeh is a PhD candidate in the department of Geography at Western university. He has broad interest in migration related issues focusing on integration of immigrants in their host and destination countries. He has conducted research on return migration, migration and sleep, immigrant integration and academic integration of students. He is focusing his Phd on understanding the role of personal networks in the integration process among Ghanaian immigrants in Canada.