Globalization and Factor Mobility

Abstract

Since the 1960s, increasing numbers of football players from Eastern Europe, South America, Africa, and Asia have been migrating to the top leagues in Western Europe (England, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain). This development has been massively fostered by the ``Bosman ruling'' of the European Court of Justice in December 1995. Perhaps surprisingly, the decreasing playing time that is now available to ``local players'' has not yet resulted in an increasing competitive balance of the national teams of countries importing players and those exporting players.