Local-global processes: linking globalization, democratization, and the development of women's football in South Africa

In our ever-increasing global world, it is becoming more difficult to understand local and national experiences of competitive athletes without reference to global processes. This is clearly the case when it comes to the global sport of football. This paper takes up the issue of local-global connections within football in Africa by examining the development of and the shifting power relations within South African women's football during the 1990s. The concurrent processes of democratization and globalization make South Africa a particularly intriguing context in which to examine local-global linkages. This analysis is based on multiple sources of data including qualitative interviews, self-administered surveys, archival documents, and direct observations of women's soccer in South Africa. Future directions for research to increase our understanding of contemporary African women's sporting experiences are discussed.