ABSTRACT
Transnational movement of sports participants is an important dimension of the internationalization and globalization processes in sports industry and also has become a crucial element of athlete professional development in the 21st century. This chapter reviews the sport psychological literature on transnational career development and cultural transitions and also provides suggestions for how receiving sport organizations, as well as sport, exercise, and performance psychology professionals, can support migrant athletes in cultural transitions. The cultural transition model depicts three phases of cultural transition: pre-transition, acute cultural adaptation, and sociocultural adaptation. The chapter focuses on four interrelated questions: why athletes need support in cultural transitions; who provides this support; what kinds of support athletes need, depending on type of mobility and their temporal situatedness within the transition; and how to provide such support in order to facilitate meaningful transition experiences.
