Faculty of Sport, Allied Health and Performance Sciences, St Mary's University, London, UK.
Sci Med Footb. 2022 Dec 1;6(5):660-667. doi: 10.1080/24733938.2022.2133161.
The globalisation of women's football reflects the increasing number of female football players moving abroad for their professional careers. Yet, the cultural transition of Asian female athletes into western culture is merely studied. This study focused on the experiences of nine elite Japanese female football players competing in the professional league in Spain and Portugal in the immediate period after moving from Japan. During the semi-structured interview participants shared their experiences of their sporting and non-sporting lives abroad and the impact of this transition on their athletic and non-athletic self and well-being. By using thematic analysis three themes illustrating their positive acculturation experiences were identified: opening up to people's kindness, redefining family, and learning a new mentality. Based on the concept of two types of happiness (interdependent and independent), and the collectivism versus individualism dichotomy, the influence of culture on the relationship between life satisfaction and athletic performance, personal growth, and expanding the support system were critically discussed. Practical implications include insights for sport professionals on how cultural change can affect transnational athletes' sporting and non-sporting lives and influence their mental health.
女子足球的全球化反映了越来越多的女性足球运动员为了职业发展而移居国外。然而，亚洲女性运动员融入西方文化的文化转型仅仅是被研究了。本研究关注的是 9 名精英日本女足运动员在离开日本后立即参加西班牙和葡萄牙职业联赛的经历。在半结构化访谈中，参与者分享了他们在国外的体育和非体育生活经历，以及这种转变对他们的运动和非运动自我以及幸福感的影响。通过使用主题分析，确定了三个主题，说明了他们积极的文化适应经验：敞开心扉接受人们的善意、重新定义家庭以及学习新的心态。基于两种幸福类型（相互依存和独立）和集体主义与个人主义的二分法，批判性地讨论了文化对生活满意度与运动表现、个人成长和扩大支持系统之间关系的影响。实际影响包括为体育专业人士提供的见解，了解文化变革如何影响跨国运动员的体育和非体育生活，并影响他们的心理健康。
