Being “The Best Ever”: Contradictions of immobility and aspiration for boxers in Accra, Ghana

Hopkinson, Leo

Abstract

Ambitions to participate in global sporting markets come hand in hand with projects of global mobility and transnational migration. However, the extreme competitiveness of sporting industries means far fewer aspiring athletes realize dreams of global mobility and engagement than hold them, leaving the question of how athletes deal with the discrepancy between their aspirations and their immobility. In Accra, performing aspiration is central to the masculinity of immobile athletes. These performances reveal Accra boxers’ critical perspective on the global boxing industry, which promises them much but often does not deliver. Daniel’s participation in boxing shows how aspirant athletes simultaneously engage with and are critical of neoliberal sporting markets, rather than blindly participating despite the odds of success being stacked against them. The Accra boxing family includes women in all the various roles involved in the sport – as boxers, coaches, referees, judges, promoters, and managers.

Citation

Hopkinson, L. (2020). Being “The Best Ever”: Contradictions of immobility and aspiration for boxers in Accra, Ghana. In N. Besnier, D. G. Calabrò, & D. Guinness (Eds.), Sport, Migration, and Gender in the Neoliberal Age (176-194). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429423277

• Online Publication Date: Oct 26, 2020
• Publication Date: 2020
• Deposit Date: Aug 17, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 17, 2022
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 176-194
• Edition: 1st
• Book Title: Sport, Migration, and Gender in the Neoliberal Age
• ISBN: 9780429423277
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429423277
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1649834
• Publisher URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429423277-13/being-best-ever-leo-hopkinson