Foreign coaches viewed through media discourse

ABSTRACT

The main focus of the present research is to investigate the media discourse about foreign coaches. This study explores the perspectives of host and donor countries through their media discourse, using the theoretical lens of established and outsiders. A media analysis was used to investigate how foreign coaches were represented in the media. Multiple sources were cross-referenced to capture the media and public opinions prior to, during and after national and international sport events. We found 257 media texts published between April 2012 and August 2014, in four different languages. The results showed the polarisation of the media discourse with foreign coaches either portrayed as instrumental for sport development and success, or stigmatised as unsuccessful mercenaries with no attachment to the host country. . These results highlight the importance of cultural awareness and media training especially for coaches dealing with the media of a host country.

KEYWORDS:

• Sports migration
• national identity
• media analysis
• globalisation

The media representation of athletes (see Maguire & Poulton, 1996; Poulton, 2004; Poulton & Maguire, 2012) and coaches (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012; Vincent, Kian, Pedersen, Kuntz, & Hill, 2010) has been studied before. Here we offer a broader perspective by extending the type of media used and languages used. First, we include online media given that current public opinion is strongly influenced by it (Simon-Maeda, 2013); we included online news, online magazines, websites and blogs. Second, we include four languages (English, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), thereby broadening the nationalities of media used beyond UK media (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012; Vincent et al., 2010).

It is important to investigate the media discourse about foreign coaches for two reasons. First, sports migrants (e.g., coaches) take part in a global sports market mediated by sports media. They gain visibility through success communicated by the media who creates higher expectations for fans and managers (Carter, 2011). Sports migrants are preconceived as talented people who are naturally able to relocate across cultures (Simon-Maeda, 2013) and sports media place higher visibility and expectations on sports foreigners during major international sports events (World Cups and Olympic Games). However, these preconceptions do not always match reality, and when this happens, the discourse on sports migrants tends to segregate them. This is done by recreating national traditions and imagined memories that exclude sports migrants from the community that hosts them (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012; Vincent et al., 2010). Second, migration is currently a hot topic with considerable media discourse dedicated to reporting migration unfavourably (e.g. Brexit, USA elections, refugees’ crises) and this can impact on how sports migrants are viewed. Media commentaries about migration are likely to influence the audiences’ knowledge about migrants not just in the society but in sport. For example, the sports media is often negative in relation to foreign coaches, relating migration to poor sport development in the host countries (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012). Foreign coaches have been perceived as those taking up national jobs. This stigmatisation of foreign coaches might have consequences on sports policies. For instance, a protectionist policy favouring Russian-native coaches was ordered by the Russian Ministry of Sport on the 21 September 2015, which excludes foreign coaches from lead Russian football clubs. Thus, it is important for the coaches to understand how native and foreign coaches are portrayed by the media. This can impact how people view them according to their nationality. Coaches need to be aware of these views so they can make informed decisions on their careers.

Literature review

Previous research on coaches’ migration investigated the main aspects of the global market recruitment of sports coaches and identified the coaches’ individual perspectives on migration (Borges, Rosado, Oliveira, & Freitas, 2015; Carter, 2011; Smith, 2016; Taylor, 2010). Results indicate that foreign coaches migrate to develop their careers, and often perceive themselves as pioneer developers of their sport in a foreign country (Borges et al., 2015). However, this is in contrast with the media discourse about foreign coaches (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012; Vincent et al., 2010). When criticising foreign coaches the media accuses coaches of not being committed to the national (sports) culture in the host country.

This article explores questions about coaches’ migration regarding the media’s reaction to the migrants’ impact on sport development and on how migrant coaches communicate their views about sport migration. The present study builds on previous work developed by Maguire and colleagues (Maguire & Falcous, 2005; Maguire & Poulton, 1996) about foreign players because it considers the relationship between national identities and donor/host country media discourse. To do this, first, we identify the influence of media in managing expectations of sports stakeholders by offering a critical analysis of the literature on sports migration and sports media. Similarly to previous studies (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012; Vincent et al., 2010), we used the conceptual framework of the established and outsiders from Elias and Scotson (1994) to examine how the mediated national develops their views of native and foreign coaches. Second, we describe the context of the online media discourse about foreign coaches. Context is important because online media is now accessible to all sports stakeholders and disseminates very broadly and quickly. Third, we presented and discussed the findings about the media discourse on foreign coaches, considering the (inter)national relations represented by the media discourse.

Media discourse and the higher expectations on sports migrants

Media has been influential in managing expectations of sports stakeholders (Maguire, 1999; Magee, 2002). For instance, celebrating trophies in the media is considered a relatively recent Western custom which creates strong expectations regarding results (Bale & Maguire, 1994;Maguire, 1999). National players and their successes are celebrated as brave and glorious triumphs and the recruitment of foreign players and coaches is often met with even higher expectations. Foreign players are presented by the local media (Simon-Maeda, 2013) and local fans (Maguire & Falcous, 2005) as more talented than local players and crucial for the local teams’ success. The increased visibility of sports migrants in the sport economic context (Carter, 2011) creates a notion of migrants as naturally able to relocate across cultures. For instance, the USA media fabricates a notion of baseball migrants from Japan as talented players who are expected to adapt to the new cultural contexts in the USA (Simon-Maeda, 2013). However, these produced conceptions do not always match reality and when migrants do not match expectations, the discourse about them segregates them from the local culture and creates prejudices about them (Poulton & Maguire, 2012).

Foreign coaches, are also required to manage their personal and professional lives in order to correspond to the media expectations of a successful coach (Vincent et al., 2010) and may feel more pressure to produce effective results early (Borges et al., 2015). Also, when they do not meet the expectations, produced by the media, their discourse is exclusionary and based on prejudice against foreign coaches. For example, two studies (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012; Vincent et al., 2010) focussed on media texts about elite and celebrity football coaches. They found that prejudice was rife against Erickson and Capello (after game losses) with media stating they were not competent to represent the English national team because they were foreigners. While some coaches may succeed in managing the media and public expectations, others may manage it poorly and have negative media exposure as a consequence. Analysing the sports media is perhaps the best way to access the values of specific sports cultures as shown in a study of foreign athletes (Poulton & Maguire, 2012). There, the concepts of national identity portrayed in the media were analysed, and players were identified regarding their inclusion or exclusion (respectively, established player or outsider). The media may address players with a sense of national identity, for instance “he plays like one of us”, or with a sense of national exclusion (Simon-Maeda, 2013).

National identities developed by the media discourse

National identity symbols and images are geo-political instruments that are often used by media discourse through sport. These symbols and images are produced, maintained and reproduced by the sports media to mediate the relations (I-we) between individuals and their nations. According to Elias and Scotson (1994), individuals are represented according to national characteristics related to established and outsiders theory. This represents an individual-self (I) as a member of a nation collective-self (we) symbolised by media through a particular national group (Maguire, 1999). The group is structured around I/we symbols that are accepted and shared inside the group. For instance, national teams, players and coaches are acknowledged by national sports media as representing us as individuals that symbolise our national traditions and the memories of our sports successes (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012; Maguire & Pearton, 2000; Poulton, 2004; Tuck, 2011; Vincent et al., 2010).

The groups are represented as exclusive to national members (we) and exclude all the members from other national groups (they). The conceptual framework of established (we) and outsiders (they), created by Elias and Scotson (1994) is crucial to support the analysis of media sport on national identities and has been used before to analyse the relations between different groups in the global sport (Maguire & Pearton, 2000; Poulton, 2004). The utilisation of we characterising individuals who are included in a social-cultural group and they representing those who are excluded from the group is commonly seen in media (Maguire & Pearton, 2000; Poulton, 2004). Maguire and Poulton (1999) analysed eight English newspapers published one day before, during and after the football Euro 96, which they characterised as broadsheets, middle-market and tabloids, according to the objectivity and sobriety of their reporting. They found that the English media discourse used personal pronouns (I/we and they/them) centred on national stereotypes that created a division between England and the other European nations. For instance, national stereotypes were centred on Switzerland clocks; Scotland bravehearts; Netherlands tulips; Spain armada and Germany wars, which create a general anti-European discourse that strengthen the divisions between two imagined symbols: the English identity (I/we) and the continental European identity (they/them). Another study of the same event used television images and found imagery of attachment with the national team linked to the pride in the national flag and anthem (Poulton, 2004). National stereotypes were also found in relation to Rugby union between countries from the same nation (Great Britain), showing an existence of “multiple national identities” (Maguire, 1999; Tuck, 2011). Tucks’ work on Rugby Union investigates the images that stereotype the British countries (England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales) from a historical perspective of the media (Maguire & Tuck, 1998; Tuck, 2003) and from the perspective of international rugby players’ (Tuck, 2011). The media coverage of the rugby union matches during the 1945–1975 stereotyped the English courage, the Irish lucky, the Scottish dedication and the Welsh voracious spirit to characterise and differentiate the national teams’ emotions and play styles (Maguire & Tuck, 1998). These national stereotypes were confirmed in relation to Ireland on Tucks’ analysis of the media discourse of the 1995 Rugby World Cup (2003). A clear strengthening of national identities (resistance to a global assimilation) was found on the media discourse by distinguishing the Irish identity from the British identity. Interestingly, Tuck found a patriotic discourse from his interviews with international Rugby players from England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, which splits Britain in two groups: the Celtic fringe (Ireland, Scotland and Wales) and the Anglo-Saxon supremacy (England). This group division was based on group charisma and media-driven traditions that perpetuates the Celtic countries sentiments of anti-Englishness. The them-us images were shared by the Ireland, Scotland and Wales Rugby teams, who united a Celtic fringe (us) against the Anglo-Saxon supremacy (them).

We and them: our national coaches and the other (foreign) coaches

The schism between native and foreign coaches has been played out by the native media discourse (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012; Vincent et al., 2010). National stereotypes are preserved by media through a discourse that praises native coaches, and traditional heritage, and stigmatises foreign coaches for their differences. Foreign coaches are stereotyped by the media as outsiders who are not committed to the host nation traditions. For example, Griggs and Gibbons (2012) found that Fabio Capello was reported in the English national press, after his resignation as the coach of the England national team, as an expensive foreign appointment who failed to comprehend both the English football and the English language. Interestingly, the media continues to resist to the sports people discourses that view football as a global language. For instance, Capello was branded arrogant and lazy from commenting that that he needed a maximum of 100 words (of English) to communicate his points to his players and talk about tactics with them. Eriksson, another foreign football coach, was a target of xenophobic media comments identying him as incompetent to represent the English national team (Vincent et al., 2010). As the authors concluded, the special charisma of the nation is perpetuated by the media by drawing we-images of the native sports legends.

National media praise native coaches through a nostalgic discourse, which revives the national triumphs from the past. Contrary to foreign coaches, they are characterised as proudly patriotic and fully committed to achieving the best results for their national sport. For instance, Harry Redknapp, an English football coach (and former English player), was characterised as an authentic Englishmen who is familiar with English football. The national media considered him a genuine modern hero who could unite the country and lead the English lads to achieve greater results with the national team (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012). According to the authors, Redknapp was symbolised by the media as our hero, one of us, the common man who achieved his dreams. Remarkably, his informal usage of the English language was used to portrait his local/national charisma and not used to segregate him. However, the incorrect usage of the English language by Eriksson and Capello, was noted as incompetence because of their foreign heritage.

Purpose and research questions

The media reproduction of these stereotypes may have severe consequences for how people view sports migrants, in a context where migration (in general) is a hot topic for the media. Therefore, more research is required to examine how the media discourse views sports migration and native/foreign coaches. The present study uses discourse analysis to examine the online media discourse about foreign coaches across different countries and sports to understand what topics and valences are associated with coaches’ migration. Our research question was the following: What types of discourses are used in online media about native/foreign coaches and coaches’ migration?

Method

Philosophical assumptions

To examine the social and cultural dynamics involved in assessing how the media portrays the discourses about foreign coaches, we adopted a relativist ontology and subjectivist/transactional epistemology (Bazeley, 2021; Sparks & Smith, 2014). By adopting a relativist ontology, we were considering the social reality as being constructed and shaped in multifaceted ways (Sparks & Smith, 2014). We were looking for the individual views portrayed and how this explained the discourses of native/foreign coaches. We consider that the online media articles represent the ways that native/foreign coaches are viewed according to their nationality, which can result in different perspectives. Also, it is our view that the readers of online media can read the same article and have different views according to their lived experiences. According to our relativist ontology, we believe that the reader’s views are dependent on their lived experiences. By adopting a subjectivist and transactional epistemology, we were considering that there is no separation between the researcher and the researched, and that the values are always part of what we can understand (Sparks & Smith, 2014). From this perspective, we took into consideration our own lived experiences and preconceptions of foreign/native coaches in our analyses of the online media articles. All authors have coaching experience in their native country and/or abroad. The first and third authors are migrants and needed to adapt to a new cultural context in a non-native language. All authors had researched coaches’ migration previously, which provided them preconceived knowledge about the topic. Their familiarity with the topic shaped their views about the migration process and the foreign coaches. By delineating the lived experiences of the researchers, we then ask the reader to take these into consideration when interpreting our findings.

Data collection

The data was collected once in May 2014 in order to contain important international events that occurred between April 2012 and August 2014, for instance the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games as well as other National and International competitions where the topic of national and international coaches was likely to be brought to the fore by the media. The data collection was done using the internet as a tool, considering that it is a place that people “live through, use, reconstruct, and can affect their lives” (Sparks & Smith, 2014, p.111). The online search engine Google was used with keyword combinations related to coaching, nationality, events and sports. The resulting combinations were:

Coach AND native OR foreign; Coach AND World-cup OR Olympics; Coach AND sport OR football OR basketball OR ice hockey OR handball OR rugby OR volleyball OR athletics OR cycling OR swimming OR cricket; Coach AND native OR foreign AND World-cup OR Olympics AND Sport OR football OR basketball OR ice hockey OR handball OR rugby OR volleyball OR athletics OR cycling OR swimming OR cricket.

The search was done in the four languages known to the authors: English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Italian. Each online search resulted in over a million results. We opened every link within the first 10 search result pages. [While the search was systematic it was not exhaustive and after about 10 pages the frequency of relevant results was small.] The type of media included in the study was online news, online magazines, websites and blogs (Shor & Galily, 2012; Shor & Yonay, 2010; Simon-Maeda, 2013). Media excluded were social network media such as Facebook or Twitter, ads, and scientific articles. For final inclusion, the content expressed in the media had to show a view on coaches and their nationality. For example, this included a text with the view that “Foreign coaches fail”, and excluded texts simply reporting the recruitment of a foreign/native coach without adding a personal view. All descriptive information was excluded because we wanted to examine the media discourse about foreign coaches and identify preconceptions about their impact on local/national sport. A database was constructed with all the texts which met the inclusion criteria. The texts were included in the analysis were from varied countries but the languages used were: English, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Media analysis

We conducted a media analysis following the stages previously identified in sports and exercise research (Sparks & Smith, 2014). The discourse can be viewed as a way of speaking. This is based on a more dominant discourse that can be understood as truth and can influence discourse control. In this case, the discourse used by the sports media can influence other people, mainly the sport’s stakeholders about their views on foreign coaches (Avner, Jones, & Denison, 2014). The online media discourses allows the identification of different narratives about a particular topic, permitting the reader to take their own view based on their lived experiences. For example, an online media user, reading the news from a host country perspective, may consider that the recruitment of foreign coaches is detrimental for the sport of their country. In contrast, another online consumer, reading the news from a donor country perspective, may consider that coaches’ migration is useful to the sports development of the countries. In this sense, the language used in these discourses may be based on the different views of the established (we) and outsiders (they) model created by Elias and Scotson (1994). The views of the online media discourse allow people to create certain opinions and beliefs about a topic. This allow us to examine how the different discourses in the online media portray the foreign coaches.

Data analysis

The analysis started by the first author reading the transcripts to familiarise himself with the data content. The software MAXQDA 10 was used to highlight key words and phrases that were relevant for our research questions. Notes were made, using the software memos, of the social and cultural meanings of each quotation related to the media views about native/foreign coaches and their nationality. Then the first and the second authors met to discuss the analyses, and the second author acted as a critical friend about the ideas and assumptions produced by the first author. The first author revisited literature on sports media about foreign coaches and coaches’ migration (e.g., Borges et al., 2015; Griggs & Gibbons, 2012; Maguire & Poulton, 1996; Poulton, 2004; Vincent et al., 2010) and created the initial categories about the data. A total of eight categories emerged from this analysis: Expectations of sport success; Expectations of sport failure; Lack of attachment to the national culture; Lack of commitment to the national sport; Marginalisation of native coaches; Sport development; Personal and professional experiences by coaches; Sport development by coaches. These categories were then discussed with the second author. After this three categories were created, representing the discourses identified on the online media: Expectations about foreign coaches; Donor and host countries’ views about foreign coaches and; Foreign coaches’ views about coaches’ migration. Within the category Donor and host countries’ views about foreign coaches we identified two emerging sub-categories: Host countries disapprove foreign coaches and; Donor countries support their native coaches’ migration. For these categories we included media quotations from host and donor countries. For donor country we refer to media discussions about coaches, from that country, working abroad. For example an English newspaper reporting on an English coach working in China. For host country we refer to media reporting of foreign coaches working in that country. For example an English newspaper reporting on a Portuguese coach. We found that the categories represent opposing views of the topic and characterise the main discourse of how native/foreign coaches are viewed by the online media sport. Using a systematic analytical procedure, we identified three discourses (see Table 1).

Table 1. Summary of categories with examples from the database.

Categories	Selected quotes from media discourse
The expectations about foreign coaches: global and national tensions
The sport success	Foreign coaches making impact in revamped NBL. (Nagatsuka, 2014)
The sport failure	Foreign coaches fail. (Maisela, 2012)
The donor and host countries views about foreign coaches
Host countries view: disapproving foreign coaches
Lack of attachment to the national culture	It’s not just the possibility of the message [by the coach] being lost in translation (…) it’s also the danger of opening the door to mockery when that message or the manner in which it is delivered does not conform to what the prevailing football culture expects from its managers. (Araujo, 2012)
Natives marginalisation	Angolan coaches are fewer than foreign coaches (…) there are fewer opportunities for native coaches (…)(Diário, 2014)
Lack of commitment to the national sport	No foreigner can claim to be more in tune with the mentality and origin of a South African footballer than a local coach.(Moloby, 2014)
Donor countries view: supporting their native coaches migration
Sport development	An English coach, has been one of the few in that realm, pushing the grassroots agenda in China for the last ten years (Lamb, 2012)
The foreign coaches view about coaches migration
Personal and professional experiences	For me, Norway was a good opportunity (…) and this was a chance to try another culture. (Amos, 2014)
Sports development	It’s always positive, and you can import the concepts for use them in your return to Spain. (Duque, 2013)

Trustworthiness

We used a flexible criterion to judge our research according to the context of our study (Smith & Caddick, 2012). First, we have attempted to make the research transparent by identifying our lived experiences and preconceptions, and we have included the quotations from the online media articles to highlight that, while the researchers selected and interpreted the quotations, the discourse is the media’s. Second, we used discussions within the research team to ensure a good level of reflexivity throughout the analysis process. Third, we have tried to show breadth by including as many and diverse a sample as was practicable (i.e., different nationalities, sports, events). Finally, we attempt to show coherence by presenting the views of both host and donor countries, and different sports stakeholders (e.g. journalists, coaches).

Results

There were three main discourses which emerged from the systematic analysis. The first discourse related to the expectations about foreign coaches, the second related to the perspectives of donor and host countries about foreign coaches, and the third related to the views of foreign coaches about migration. Each of these main discourse is of interest to answer the research question regarding how media discourse portrays foreign coaches.

The expectations about foreign coaches: global and national tensions

The expectations about foreign coaches may be seen as the way media discourse stimulates controversy (Vincent et al., 2010). This need for controversy, which may be driven by profit, creates hopes and beliefs that are unrealistic. Vincent and colleagues argue that foreign coaches’ recruitment is discussed based on global/national and success/failure controversies. Hopes are attributed to foreign coaches, which symbolise a guarantee of success and all the benefits of the global sport. However, distrust is also attributed to foreign coaches, representing them as a failure and threat to the national sport.

In our results, the media discourse reported expectations about foreign coaches. Those texts focused either on the expectations for foreign coaches to succeed or to fail. An example of high expectations to succeed is illustrated by this quotation: “[The fans and media] demand the clubs to hire foreign coaches and then they charge them for superior achievements” (Sportv, 2014). An example of high expectations to fail is illustrated by this quotation: “Foreign soccer coaches just do not cut it in South Africa” (Maisela, 2012).

The sport success

The texts which showed expectations for foreign coaches to succeed focused on recruitment, and also sports popularity and the organisation of mega sport events. Regarding recruitment, the texts showed the expectation that in order to bring the sport to a new level of results a foreign coach would be needed. For example, at a local/national level, the historical achievements of Hungarian football coach in Brazil during the 1950s are noted: “Béla Guttmann introduced the tactical revolution in the Brazilian football and won the Paulista championship” (Stein, 2014). Or even: “Tanzanian clubs have turned to foreign coaches, believing that they have what it takes to win local and international tournaments” (Mbaraga, 2013). At a global level the statement that foreign coaches contributed to the Iranian volleyball success, for instance: “Foreign coaches make Iran the sensation team in the Volleyball World League; the Argentine Julio Velasco is considered one of the best coaches ever. He won the first Asian title in 2011 for the Iranians and repeated it in 2013.” (Folha de São Paulo, 2014). Interestingly, the texts showed there may be a double-standard for foreign and local coaches: “The fans and press in Brazil interfere with the work of foreign coaches more that with local coaches. They demand the clubs to hire foreigners and then they charge foreign coaches for superior achievements, which they don’t require from local coaches.” (Sportv, 2014). We also found texts in the media and media discourse which linked recruitment to the popularity of the sport and the organisation of mega sport events. The media reported on the Brazilian Olympic Committee to Rio 2016:

‘The dream to archive the top 10 made Brazilian recruit foreign coaches … the main criteria are to get a coach with experience (and trophies) from a country that has tradition in the sport.’ (Brum, 2014)

The sport failure

The texts which showed expectations for foreign coaches to fail focused on failure as a stigma. For example, one digital magazine from the Middle East commented on the fact that “A national team with a foreign coach has never won the FIFA World Cup” (Mirza, 2014). A South African media text emphasised that “foreign soccer coaches just do not cut it in South Africa. The record speaks for itself. As far as I can recall no foreign coach has ever won the Premier Soccer League.” (Maisela, 2012). Media and media discourse appeared harsher on foreign coaches where the sport in question was popular. Native coaches were portrayed as more competent to work in their native countries. For instance, this is a case in point with a media text about hockey coaches in India:

“Indian [hockey] coaches can do much better than the foreign coaches, because Indian coaches know our players” strength and weakness (The Times of India, 2014).’

The donor and host countries views about foreign coaches

The donor and host countries views about foreign coaches may be seen as strengthening the national identities. Both host and donor views are supportive of their native coaches at home and abroad, while host countries also disapprove of the foreign coaches.

In our results, the media discourse reported the views of host and donor countries. The texts were either from a host country disapproving foreign coaches or from a donor country approving native coaches working abroad. Examples are the Brazilian media discourse disapproving of hiring foreign coaches because it was “disrespectful for the Brazilian coaches” (Fernandez, 2014) and the approval by donor countries saying that their own coaches “do it better” (D’Ambrosio, 2014).

Host countries view: disapproving foreign coaches

Host countries media and media discourse stated that foreign coaches lack commitment to the national sport, lack attachment to the national culture, and are responsible for the native coaches’ marginalisation. Regarding the lack of commitment to the national sport, the media referred to foreign coaches as uncommitted and exclusively motivated to work abroad because of financial gain. For example in African football, foreign coaches are portrayed to “care more about money and maybe their own professional successes”. They are “joker coaches who come, reap and go” and “the [African] continent has become a goldmine for European coaches” (Mbaraga, 2013). In Mozambique the media discourse agreed that it was the “El Dorado for the foreign coaches, mainly the Portuguese” (Caldeira, 2014). In Russia, the media discourse also highlights this stigma. For example, coaches at the end of their careers are motivated to go abroad exclusively for getting lucrative incomes:

‘Russia is not an attractive place to work … Russia can only attract coaches with heaps of money. The coaches know that there is oil and gas money here. Capello, Hiddink and Advocaat were all relatively old when they signed their contract with Russia, and knew this would be their last big deal.’ (Gabrielle, 2014).

Regarding the foreign coaches’ lack of attachment to the national culture the media discourse in African football stated that foreign coaches make no effort to respect the traditional social rules of their nations. For instance, they do not have “a sense of patriotism and allegiance, in terms of nationality or natural connection for the countries they coach (…) the sense of nationality (Rwanda) is missing” (Mbaraga, 2013). We found that coaches’ communication with the media may be a crucial point both in the correct use of the language and the adaptation of language to the context of the host country. For example, a Portuguese foreign coach working in England was criticised for his lack of attachment to the English language: “The language and jargon of football gets worse by the day. Villas-Boas uses a lot of it. Would Burnley players have ever understood what he wanted if he’d told them to solidificate or some of his other terms?” (Lee, 2012). [Note: The Portuguese word solidificar means to solidify or consolidate]. However, “the language only really becomes an issue for managers if they are not successful” (Araujo, 2012). In terms of context, the media suggests that foreign coaches should be able to conform to the foreign country’s identity. For example, the Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho was understood by the media discourse as competent in managing his statements about English football:

‘He was better able [than Andre Vilas Boas] to use the media to his advantage. More importantly, Mourinho seems acutely aware at all times of the importance of projecting an image of himself that is tailored to his particular audience (Araujo, 2012).’

Sports media discussed the marginalisation of native coaches, often blaming foreign coaches for this marginalisation. For instance, “Tanzanian clubs have turned to foreign coaches” and “[some clubs] have stopped making use of local coaches because they believe that local coaches are incapable of turning around their fortunes” (Mbaraga, 2013). This is linked with the expectations that foreign coaches will have better success than native coaches, as mentioned above. In contrast, media discourse in Russia stated that the favouritism in coaches’ recruitment should be in favour of the Russian coaches, as the following text shows:

‘Russia has its specificities (…) Russians have a different mentality. They are not like Europeans. We understand which buttons to press and how people will respond. Foreigners cannot grasp this’ (Gabrielle, 2014).

Donor countries view: supporting their native coaches migration

Donor countries media and media discourse stated that their native coaches migration have a positive effect on the sport development of the foreign country. In this regard, we can identify native pride in the media discourse of donor countries not only for the work of their coaches but for their own country as well. For example, about Spanish handball coaches:

‘The Spanish handball is in fashion (…) The prestige of the Spanish coaches in the handball world isn’t accidental. See for instance the example of the Asian championship with three Spanish coaches playing for the tournament trophy. The fantastic work of the coaches is based on the coaching education that has been developing in Spain for many years’ (Malvar, 2014).

Specifically, the media discourse endorses their coaches as pioneers of sport development. Donor countries media discourse pointed out that native coaches working abroad are not only focussed in their personal and professional ambitions but also they are keen to develop their sport abroad. For example, the English media discourse about one English football coach in China:

‘Foreign football managers are widespread throughout the Chinese professional leagues, but … few apply their knowledge to cultivating Chinese youth development … unlike this English coach [Terry Singh]. He has been one of the few pushing the grassroots agenda in China for the last ten years’ (Lamb, 2012)

It is important to note that the media discourse about native coaches working abroad is rather different from the media discourse regarding foreign coaches.

The foreign coaches’ view about coaches’ migration

By foreign coaches’ view about coaches’ migration we mean their own perspectives of foreign coaches as communicated to the media. Their views are in favour of a global market perspective because they see coaches’ migration as a phenomenon that allows them to develop personally and professionally. Also, they view coaches’ migration as important for the global development of their sport.

In our results, the media discourse reported the coaches’ views about coaches’ migration. Foreign coaches expressed their views either about coaches’ personal and professional issues or sport development. Regarding the personal and professional issues we found that coaches view these experiences as opportunities to learn a new language and to learn how to work at the highest level, as the following quotation shows: “My family and I have already learned the language (…) it is a great experience to live in a city that takes volleyball very seriously” (coach Di Pinto, in Palumbo, 2013). Specifically, about professional issues, the foreign coaches stated that international experiences are an opportunity for them to get employed. As an English football coach working in Norway stated: “If you want to build a career, you’re passionate, and you want to succeed, it might be your only option” (coach Brian Dean, in Amos, 2014). Foreign coaches stated that their successful work abroad is understood as an incentive to their native colleagues. For instance: “In Portugal, people say there are lots of Portuguese coaches working abroad and I opened the door for them.” (coach Jose Mourinho, in Araujo, 2012). Interestingly, the same foreign coach made the following statement:

‘At this moment in the Premier League - and I’m speaking against myself - I disagree with so many foreign coaches in this country (…) I don’t see a reason for [so many foreign coaches] because I don’t feel the English managers are in any way worse than the foreign ones. (…) I think the main culture has to be always the English, or in this case the British culture’ (coach Jose Mourinho, in Araujo, 2012).

Regarding sport development we found that coaches view migration experiences as opportunities for cultural and innovation improvement. Cultural issues were evidenced in the comments by a Portuguese female coach working in Qatar: “When I arrived, there were only three or four girls interested in playing football (…) it is not easy for a woman to play football [in Qatar](…) there are restrictions for women to be photographed and the men are not allowed to see women’s training and games” (coach Helena Costa, in Gonçalves, 2012). Sport innovation through cultural exchange of experiences was another type of statement by foreign coaches. According to a Spanish Basketball coach working in China:

‘You experience different things, good and bad things, but at the end of the day it is always positive, and you can import the concepts to use them upon your return to Spain.’ (coach Lucas Mondelo, in Duque, 2013)

Discussion

The media discourse reviewed in this study showed an intense polarisation on the topic of foreign coaches as they were either portrayed as instrumental for success and sport development, or stigmatised as unsuccessful mercenaries with no attachment to the host country. A previous study looking into newspapers’ narratives in English football found similar results (Vincent et al., 2010). The media showed great expectations when Erickson was hired for the World Cup in 2006, but after the team lost the quarter-finals the media stigmatised him as the failing foreign coach. The polarisation of media regarding foreign coaches was also found in a study about foreign basketball players in the UK. When they interviewed Leicester Basketball fans, Maguire and Falcous (2005) found that American players were considered better than natives in their individual performances but fans were quick to point out that these foreign players were uncommitted to local and national success. This intense polarisation may be a way for media to attract readers by creating controversy; however, it is also likely to negatively influence the readership in respect to foreign coaches. As a consequence of the potential influence of media on public opinion, there may be increased pressure on sport managers to recruit coaches according to these polarised expectations, so coaches should be aware of these views to better communicate with other sports stakeholders. This is suggested by Griggs and Gibbons (2012), who studied the recruitment of England football coaches in relation to the media discourse. The authors illustrate this influence by noting that since 1999, the role of English football coach has alternated between foreign and native coaches with Keegan (1999–2000), Ericson (2001–2006), McClaren (2006–2007), Cappelo (2008–2012) and Hodgson (2012-present).

Importantly, the present study also found that the polarisation seen in the media was not only about expectation of success or failure but also in respect to national identities. The media of host and donor countries strengthen emotions of national identity by disapproving foreign coaches while supporting native coaches working abroad. The native coaches are viewed as the established (we) and the foreign coaches are viewed as the outsiders (they) (Elias & Scotson, 1994). In disapproving foreign coaches, the host media raised concerns regarding their lack of attachment or lack of commitment to the national sport. This is in line with a case study showing that Italian coach Fabio Capello was portrayed in newspapers as costly and unaware of English traditions or language because of his Italian identity, while English coach Harry Redknapp was seen as more competent than foreign coaches to perform with the national team (Griggs & Gibbons, 2012).

In supporting native coaches, our study showed that online media defended or exalted their native coaches. Some reports criticise the marginalisation of native coaches who are left with fewer opportunities due to the recruitment of foreign coaches (cf., native versus foreign players in Maguire & Falcous, 2005). Other reports exalt native coaches working abroad as pioneers of sport development in those countries. They are further praised as national symbols and applauded for their ability to disseminate or develop their sport abroad. This strengthening of national identity emotions was also found in the coverage of the football Europe Cup in 1996 where both newspapers and TV broadcast represented the English team with nostalgia while the opposing teams were linked with war-related events (Maguire & Poulton, 1996; Poulton, 2004). Interestingly, among all the texts there was only one where a foreign coach was praised for his ability to communicate within the established traditions of the country and to actively contribute to the sense of national pride in the host country (English media about Portuguese coach Mourinho). These findings highlight the need for foreign coaches to better understand other cultural contexts to help them interact with the sports stakeholders of their host country. In a similar way, some foreign-born British athletes (e.g., Mohamed Farah) were embraced by British media for their ability to contribute to the national pride of the host country (Poulton & Maguire, 2012). Previous research suggests that professional success with a team halts negative media (Poulton & Maguire, 2012) at least during that period of success. Therefore, it these special cases would be worth a closer look as they may clarify what factors (other than success) contribute to a positive host media discourse.

A smaller proportion of media used direct quotations from foreign coaches about migration and the overall tone was positive towards their migration experience. Coaches referred to two principal aspects: their personal and professional development, and the development of the sport. Although coaches mentioned difficulties regarding their adaptation to the language and culture of the host country, these were viewed as challenges that contributed to personal development. In a previous study, foreign coaches were interviewed and also found an overall positive tone regarding their experiences of migration (Borges et al., 2015). Different coaches were motivated to move abroad because of ambitionist, cosmopolitan and pioneer motivations (according to the definitions offered by Maguire, 1996 and extended by Magee & Sugden, 2002). These same categories emerged now from foreign coaches as quoted in the media reinforcing the idea that coaches migrate in order to develop themselves and their sport. This is in sharp contrast with the media texts which portrayed foreign coaches as mercenaries who migrate for fast profits and therefore these different perceptions may create further tensions between the foreign coaches and the host country media. It is important that coaches are aware about these different views in order to work in a foreign country or to work in the native country with other foreign sports stakeholders.

Conclusion

This study provided a comprehensive view on how the media could influence the perceptions of the readers about foreign and native coaches. Considering that coaches’ migration is a common practice in the current sports labour market, it is important for the coaches to understand how native and foreign coaches are portrayed by the media, because this can impact on how people view them as established or outsiders. Thus, coaches need to be aware of these views so they can make informed decisions regarding their careers and their communication with sports stakeholders in a national/international context. Our findings also have theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, more work needs to be done before we can conceptualise how the coaching profession is socially represented by different stakeholders, what factors determine those representations, what control (or influence) coaches can exert over them. For instance, the identification of national cultural patterns and local behaviour patterns and patterns of coach recruitment may be a starting point. In practice, coaches’ longevity at a club is likely to be influenced by a) their cultural intelligence and b) their reflective practice. Coaches’ training currently includes no aspects of cultural training and few aspects of in-depth reflective practice. Therefore, we suggest that the cultural training needs of coaches viz-a-viz their future careers be assessed and addressed through initial training and continuous professional development so they can achieve professional excellence.

The concept of established and outsider groups or we-image and they-image (Elias & Scotson, 1994) can be applied to understand the expectations on foreign coaches and how they are viewed by the media of host and donor countries. Host countries’ stigmatisation of foreign coaches as mercenaries with lack of attachment to the national culture, lack of commitment to the national sport, and as responsible for natives’ marginalisation, confirms them as outsiders. Donor countries’ recognition of emigrant coaches as pioneers of sport development and sources of national pride, confirms them as established in relation to the donor country. These groups can also be applied to understand the foreign coaches as a group. Foreign coaches view themselves and other migrant coaches (we-image) as the pioneers of sport development who increase the quality of their sport in the host countries (they-image). Both donor and host countries media discourses about foreign coaches replicate the “imagined communities” found in Anderson (1983). As the author mentions, a nation or group “is imagined because the members of even the smallest nation will never know most of their fellow-members, meet them, or even hear of them, yet in the minds of each lives the image of their communion” (p. 6). Correspondingly, most of the journalists (and bloggers or sports commentators), from donor and host countries, never meet their native coaches, however in their texts it is possible to identify images that symbolise a communion with the coaches from the same nation.

The present study has some limitations and further generalisations should be made with caution. For instance, the data collected focuses only on four different languages (English, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian) and although they are spoken in many countries, they nevertheless exclude significant language groups (e.g., Chinese, Hindi, Arabic). Analysing the media discourse in more languages might uncover important culture-specific results. For instance, it could be that in some cultures the coach is viewed as an authority figure that the media dares not criticise. A related limitation is that we focussed on language rather than country for the analysis which means that we have not captured country-specific differences. For instance, it could be that the media of countries with a greater history of emigration are kinder towards foreign coaches. Similarly, it could be that journalists working abroad are themselves kinder towards foreign coaches. Finally, future research should also investigate the perceptions of foreign coaches regarding sports media, whether the media interfere with their work, and identifying best practices in the coach-media relationship. Future studies should explore these relationships in greater detail thereby adding to research about national identities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BD/85429/2012].