Football Academies and the Migration of African Football Labor to Europe

Abstract

This article analyzes one of the key features of the increased trading in African football labor since the 1990s, the establishment of football “academies” in Africa. The article begins by setting out a broad explanatory framework that articulates the transit of African footballers to Europe and the role of football academies in this process as a form of neocolonial exploitation and impoverishment of the developing world by the developed world. A brief account of the history, geography, economics, and consequences of African football talent migration to Europe follows. The main focus of the article is the construction of a typology of football academies in Africa and an analysis of their role in the export of African football labor. The article concludes by analyzing the key challenges that the growth of football academies has posed for the African game and outlines ways that these challenges might be addressed.