The migration of athletes is one of the most important aspects in the global development of
modern sports. In handball we are monitoring intensive development and changed patterns of
migration. The basic purpose of our research was to determine the migration trends of male and
female handball players from and in Slovenia for the period between 2010 and 2020. We used
official data on player transfers recorded by the RZS; the data were processed with the SPSS
statistical program. We determined frequencies, percentages and trends. We recorded a total of
598 transfers, of which 418 (69.90%) were men and 180 (29.93%) were women; 290 (48,5%)
transfers were made to Slovenia and 308 (51.5%) from Slovenia. The results also show that the
trend of migration of Slovenian handball players in the mentioned period is increasing. On
average, players decided to move abroad for the first time at the age of 23. On average, players
change two clubs abroad. Most migration is recorded within the EU - men mostly migrate to
France, Austria and Germany; women to Germany and France. A large share (almost 70%) of
foreign handball players are coming to Slovenia from the countries of the ex Socialist federal
republic of Yugoslavia, but the share has been decreasing in recent years. Citizens from outside
the EU (for example Australia, Turkey, Switzerland) also appear during transfers to Slovenia.
The key findings of our research are that the trend of migration in Slovenian handball is
increasing and that the age limit for migrants in handball is decreasing, even players under the
age of 18 are going abroad. Above all, the key finding is that in the last period we have been
recording an increasing share of Slovene men and women moving abroad. The data confirms
the thesis about good professional training, or about the training of a large number of talents
and quality players, who are also interesting for the best foreign clubs. The intensity of
migration has many positive effects and advantages; but there are also some limitations and
weaknesses. We would suggest further research into aspects of migration in Slovenian handball.
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