Racism, Sexism, and International Migration in 21st Century Football

The football academies in the United Kingdom are an excellent example of how commercialized and global all aspects of the game have become.  These youth football academies were originally formed to propagate talented football players from an early age.  By having Premier League clubs sponsor these schools, these clubs got were able to keep the talent for themselves and in the UK.  Recently, other countries have followed the UK’s example, but with one key difference; from the start, they actively sought out young players from around the world for their academies.  These academies are also responsible for teaching the youth players workforce skills to fall back on in case their football dreams fall short.

By actively looking for and recruiting youth players from around the world, European football academies are embodying some of the founding ideas of the European Union.  Even if the extranational youth players do not make it in the big leagues, they become a part of that country’s workforce and contribute to its global image.  

But by having these young players migrate around the world, the psychological impact these young players experience due to cultural differences is often downplayed.  Youth player migration has become a business in itself unlike the original intention of the academies.  I believe some of this change is as a result of the globalization of all aspects of football and the desire of media to emphasize the differences of other players leading to the idea of racism.

The power that the media wields today is evident in nearly every aspect of our modern lives.  We wake up and the internet and TV all give us an instant fix for everything we might have missed while we were sleeping.  Now, with smartphones in nearly everyone’s pocket, we are almost never not connected to the digital world.  The fact that we can get updates on our favorite teams and players instantly makes racial instances like Zidane’s world news.