What do Kevin Pietersen, Mo Farah and Raheem Sterling have in common? Apart from the fact that they are supremely successful in their respective sports, they are also three of the most high-profile elite athletes who turned their backs on their native lands to pursue glory for an adopted homeland.
But why does one make this choice – whether conscious or forced? According to Zaman Ahmed, the 29-year-old Duty Manager and Staff Head at the University of East London’s Sports Dock, “It could be [out of gratitude towards England or holding something against their own birth nation]. However, the coverage in the UK is so much more mainstream; everything here is amplified.”
How impactful is sport in a young, aspiring student’s life? Moreover, does a change in culture and lifestyle influence these aspirations? Every year, a few thousands reportedly move countries in order to pursue sport as students. “Everyone’s dream can come true if you just stick to it and work hard,” Serena Williams once said. But is it really that straightforward?
The Sports Dock at the University of East London is the hub of all athletic activity; numerous active students, both local and international, take to the centre every day during university hours. A professional setup with an amalgamation of ethnic and cultural diversities, the Sports Dock is a haven for athletes. While some of them engage in purely recreational sport, others want to make it big in the industry.
Buthmi Galagamage, UEL’s 26-year-old female badminton captain, has major goals. Currently doing her MSc in Sports Management, she delved into her journey as a sportswoman from Sri Lanka and how the UK has played a role in her sporting desire.
“My main sport has always been badminton,” Galagamage explains. “However, I’ve also enjoyed playing squash over the years. Unfortunately, there is no squash at UEL. I’ve been into badminton since the age of 10. It has helped me develop myself into a leader, which I didn’t think I was.”
Having represented her country in badminton and squash, Buthmi opted to make the racquet and shuttle her life – and she credits the United Kingdom to a large extent. “Sri Lanka is a small island,” she says. “UK is something I never imagined. Coming here, starting a new life; it was hard initially. But now, I have friends whom I call family because of badminton. It [this country] has given me a lot of opportunities; I’m enjoying it!”
While on a student visa, the UK’s regulations mean that an aspiring athlete would still have to wait to get a permanent status in order to play professionally. Nonetheless, Buthmi believes that UEL can ameliorate her chances of eventually going pro.
“This is the start of my dream to represent the England national badminton team,” she adds. “Although I played in Sri Lanka, I am now building the contacts that I require to make it big in England.”
According to Galagamage, while the system is slightly complex in comparison, England is the place to be for her. “Here, I must play for clubs, represent counties, get a Badminton England membership, play ranking tournaments, and then get recognised fully. However, I’m already in the process of getting selected to the Surrey County,” she says with excitement that could barely be contained.
Meanwhile 20-year-old Bradley Dodds, the head of the men’s badminton team, has other ideas about going pro. “Back in Ukraine, there are a lot of opportunities to train and play,” he divulges. “But in the UK, there are more opportunities in terms of competing and engaging in competition. While the Docklands Campus has given a lot of students the chance to express themselves, I’m not too sure about the professional part of it. I don’t necessarily think I have what it takes. While I do know what it takes, I want to pursue my degree and earn money as quickly as possible. I don’t think there’s a stable enough income in the sport.”
For someone like 21-year-old Saeed Karim Majid, relocating from Afghanistan at a young age brought about huge changes. While it was a cultural transformation and a battle to fit in, the horizons that opened for him induced a whole lot of gratitude and confidence in his own identity – something that he believes wouldn’t have been possible without sport. “It [sport] forms a lot of my identity. Afghanistan does not have nearly as much in terms of opportunities and life in general. At UEL, it’s very sports-based and centred around sport.”
According to a Henley Global Report, around 5% of the players at the inaugural FIFA World Cup in 1930 represented countries that were not their birthplace. By Qatar 2022 however, this number increased to a comparatively gigantic 16.5% among the participating teams. These cross-border athletes either migrated due to added citizenship, specifically for sport, or both. Meanwhile, a Student Sport Company report suggests that the organisation brought in students from over 40 different countries to pursue sport – showcasing the vast desire to move to the UK.
While getting into professional sport can be a challenge that seems insurmountable, UEL’s international community is a prime example of a larger landscape wherein athletes do whatever it takes to be one with sport. “The university needs to do more to promote the good things that students in sports do,” Zaman Ahmed concludes. “If success stories are marketed, it encourages more people to take up sport.” While the results are just as important, it’s the process of achieving your dream of representing a nation that gave you what your motherland couldn’t, that fuels these budding stars. What initiated as the bane of ‘betraying’ your homeland could end up transforming into the biggest boon of success.
