ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the particular trend of East African long-distance runners who transfer their allegiance to represent countries in the Middle East. Using ethnographic data from anthropological fieldwork and incorporating athletes’ experiences, this chapter charts some of the desires, motivations and perceptions of this particular form of athletic migration. Furthermore, the chapter situates the lived experiences of athletes within the discourses and commentary about the legitimacy of these transfers. This chapter argues that this particular trend in allegiance transfer garners disproportionate scrutiny as it both accompanies a rise of a new power in global sport – the Middle East – and allows for greater proliferation of Black athletes to achieve a chance at global success. As such, there is a double shift in which non-European actors and entities are beginning to lay claim to a larger stake in the profits of international sport, leading to greater policing and suspicion.
