And yet… Greece “produces” footballers: 127 players in 31 leagues around the world

In total 127 “immigrant players” in 31 leagues around the world, has Hellasand is located in 34th placeamong the 88 countries with the most players abroad, in 135 leagues worldwide.

That’s what his new study says CIES Football Observatoryan international sports research center, located in Nosatel, Switzerland and created in collaboration with FIFA, where football’s major migration routes around the world are revealed, after analyzing 83 European leagues, 20 in Asia, 18 in South America, 10 in North America and four in Africa, for the period between 2017 and 2023.

As mentioned, a total of 62,610 players were analyzed, including 14,405 “legionaires”.

Italy is the leading host country for Greek “immigrants”

Our country -in the relevant ranking- showed an increase of 9.4% (12 players) compared to the study presented in 2022. The leading host country for Greek football “immigrants” is Italy with 16 players, leaving in second place Cyprus (15 players) and third Poland (11 players).

The top 10 host countries for Greek players:

Italy 16

Cyprus 15

Poland 11

Albania 10

Netherlands 10

Turkey 10

England 5

Germany 5

Slovakia 5

USA 5

On the contrary, the most footballers from Spain (36) arrive in Greece, followed by the French (29), Argentines (18), Portuguese (16) and Dutch (8).

Brazil, the main player exporting country in the world

Brazil is the main exporter of footballers (1,289), ahead of France (1,033) and Argentina (905). However, while the number of Brazilians and Argentines abroad increased slightly from 2022 (+5.6%), that of the French increased significantly (+10.8%).

With 1,289 players, the number of Brazilian expats surpassed for the first time the previous record set in 2019. Portugal remains the preferred destination (213 players), followed by four non-European countries: Japan, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and the United States. Compared to other expatriates, Brazilians playing abroad are more likely to play as strikers and are concentrated in the older age groups.

Along with Brazil and Argentina, two other non-European associations are among the top ten “exporting” countries: Colombia (6th, 448 expatriates) and Nigeria (9th, 385 expatriates). Three other African countries are in the top 20: Ghana (14th), Ivory Coast (17th) and Senegal (19th). Japan is the first from Asia (22nd with 169 players) while the United States leads in Central and North America (23rd/162 ).

Since 2017, the largest increase in the number of expats has been measured for France: +265 players, which corresponds to an increase of more than a third. On a percentage basis, the increase was even more spectacular for the second highest country: Colombia (+147 players, +49%). Of the 183 confederations represented in 2023, only 59 showed a decrease from 2017, with the highest being Serbia (-59 expatriates), followed by Romania (-39) and Cameroon (-30).

Rise of the “Legionaries”

Since 2017, the number of expats per team has increased by around 20% and now represent almost a quarter of active players in the 135 leagues surveyed.

Main exporting country Brazil (1,289), together with the last two world champions, France (1,033) and Argentina (905) account for 22.4% of the total number of “immigrants”, reflecting their global leadership in the development of footballers top level. In absolute terms, the biggest increase since 2017 was recorded for the French “legionaries” (+265), ahead of the Colombians (+147) and the Argentines (+136).

The upward trend in the number of foreign footballers is likely to continue in the coming years, both in Europe and beyond. Outside of Europe, growth is driven in particular by the economic growth of MLS in the United States and Canada, as well as the weakening of foreign player quotas in Asia and the significant investment made in particular by Saudi Arabia, which has replaced China as the new bridgehead on the continent.

The highest rate was seen in the UEFA leagues (7.77 per team, 27.7%), while the lowest rates were recorded in the CONMEBOL leagues (3.08 per team, 10.7%).

Source: skai.gr