Challenges experienced by female athletes who have migrated to play professional sports overseas : a qualitative study

Abstract

When globalization and professionalization increased within the world of sports, athletes started migrating across national borders to start their new careers, and as a result both their physical and mental skills were challenged (Nesti & Littlewood, 2011). In this study six Maltese female athletes (aged 14-42) who at some point migrated from the Island of Malta to play sports professionally, engaged in individual semi-structured interviews which were analysed using an Interpretative Phenomenological Approach (Biddle, Markland, Gilbourne, Chatzisarantis & Sparkes, 2001). The analysis of the interviews indicated differences between genders when compared to Muscat, Nesti, Morris, Richardson and Littlewood’s (awaiting publication) study, as female athletes showed to be more independent than the male athletes and were better accustomed to living alone. The findings however, also presented similar challenges experienced by both the female athletes in this study and the male athletes in Muscat et al.’s (awaiting publication) study. Such challenges included the cold weather, homesickness, uncertainty, sadness, isolation and the intensity of the sport. When tackling these challenges the female athletes emphasized on the support they received from their families, coaches, and teammates every step of the way to achieving the level of expertise in elite sports.