31 March 2023 - 12:30 PM
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Alamy | The most prominent southwest England-born talent currently is Arsenal's Ben White
Greater London has the lion’s share: Exploring the birthplace hotspots for Premier League footballers
- Many children dream of making it to the Premier League, but mapping where the league’s footballers come from reveals the opportunities to be unequal.
- By mapping the birthplaces of nearly 3,000 current and former Premier League players, we investigate regional and international hotspots for their origins.
- Why it matters: Living in a region with numerous Premier League clubs evidently offers significant advantages for aspiring players. Should academies expand their search beyond their immediate area to uncover hidden talent?
- The perspective: A substantial portion of foreign-born EPL players hail from several small countries in Northern Europe, while non-European birth countries are scarcely represented in the data, even before adjusting for population differences.
Football's biggest stage, the Premier League, has long been the goal for children who wish to pursue a career in the sport. Yet, the journey from local pitch to global spotlight is marked by disparities in access and opportunities based on geographic origins.
In this analysis, we provide a unique mapping of the Premier League that investigates the regional and international birthplaces of players, exposing the unequal landscape that shapes the future stars of football.
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