Transactionality, Opportunism and the Third Generation’s Emotional Patriotism. Deservingness and Transnational Football Players in the Polish National Team

Abstract

Most studies which focus on the topic of transnational athletes tend to analyse this phenomenon in the context of western European countries, usually those with a colonial past. However, the scale of migration and its diversity makes it necessary to look at other geographical contexts of transnationalism in sport. One field of particular presence of transnational athletes is national football teams. This paper considers all cases of transnational footballers in the Polish national team. Since Poland has a very specific tradition of multi-ethnicity and multiculturalism, the presence of any transnational athlete is an interesting sociological case to analyse. The study investigates the various mechanisms associated with transnationalism through the lens of the category of ‘deservingness’ and identifies three main modes of transnationalism: transactionality, opportunism, and the third generation’s emotional patriotism. The article also discusses the different dimensions of deservingness with reference to sport.