Migration of Women Athletes to the Romanian Handball League

Abstract

It will always be brought to discussion how beneficial or bad the import of athletes is, or the number of these athletes. The advantages of importing foreign athletes are found in the quality of the results. Our research holds focus on the migration of foreign women handball players which are found under a contract and are playing in the best handball league for seniors from Romania, examining the season 2016-2017, in point of the number of foreign players, country of origin, age, the position they are specialized on, Romanian teams they have played for, and also accounting of years spent on our territory. The obtained results reveals that there are 31 foreign handball players in the Romanian women’s league, having origins in 15 different countries from 3 continents: Europe, South America and Africa. They represent 14.4 percent of all women handball players under contract with the teams from the best women’s league. Close to 50 percent of the players have less than one season spent in Romanian’s handball. When it comes to age, the average calculated is 27.9 years, and the most experienced players are the goalkeepers, with an average of 31 years old. Looking at the positions occupied on the field by the players from outside Romania, 42 percent of total are playing left and right back, while the less represented position regarding the foreigners is the left wing, where only one player is in this situation.