African footballers’ life cycles according to the analysis of transfer value along their career path: A case study of Ghanaian players

+233 503962283 | |
eyacheampong@uew.edu.gh |
African footballers’ life cycles according to the analysis of transfer value along their career path: A case study of Ghanaian players
The evolution of the internationalÌýtransferÌýmarket continues to demonstrate the vibrancy and attractiveness of the UEFA clubs and leagues. This explains whyÌýAfricanÌýplayersÌýare attracted to a professionalÌýcareerÌýin European clubs. BasedÌýonÌýtwo decades of data collection (1994–2014), this articleÌýanalysesÌýthe evolution ofÌýAfricanÌýplayers’ÌýcareersÌýwith theÌýcaseÌýofÌýGhanaianÌýhome-grownÌýplayers’ mobility in the internationalÌýtransferÌýmarket. TheÌýplayers’ÌýcareerÌýdynamic is basedÌýonÌýa combination ofÌýtransferÌývaluesÌýand their ages. We reliedÌýonÌýdata fromÌýtransferÌýrecords, informationÌýonÌýtheÌýfootballÌýlabour market and the productÌýlifeÌýcycleÌýtheory to identifyÌýAfricanÌýplayers’ÌýcareerÌýdynamics. This allows us to determine the fourÌýcyclesÌýinÌýplayers’Ìýcareers: domestic development, internationalÌýcareerÌýdevelopment, maturity and the decline which corresponds to the nonlinear evolution of theirÌýtransferÌývalues. The results supported to construct theÌýAfricanÌýfootballers’ ‘Careers’ÌýPathÌýModel Dynamics (CPMD)’ of professionalÌýplayers.