¹ All individuals identified in this article have been given pseudonyms to help protect their anonymity. Those Cubans who have given of their time, energy and knowledge freely have had their identities changed for two reasons: (1) it is standard ethnographic practice to do so unless the individual in question is someone well known and whose work and life are heavily reported in local if not international media; and (2) the potential repercussions for giving their assistance, which cannot be foreseen, when addressing social issues that involve questions of illegality and state power.

² Field research for this paper, funded by a British Academy Small Research Grant, SG-43107, examined the experiences of Cuban transnational sport migrants. Earlier fieldwork, informing that study and this paper, on various issues revolving around Cuban identity and sport was funded by the Latin American and Iberian Institute at the University of New Mexico. The Sports Council for Northern Ireland funded a long-range ethnographic study on the impact transnational sport migrants were having on local sports infrastructures after the 1998 Good Friday agreement. The support of all of these institutions is gratefully acknowledged.

³ The Serie Nacional is the national baseball league.

⁴ La Peña is a reference to the peña deportiva or sports group that meets everyday in Parque Central in Havana. Members of this group meet daily to argue about sport, especially baseball gossip, commiserate and socialize. See Carter Carter, T.F. 2001. Baseball Arguments: Aficionismo and Masculinity at the Core of Cubanidad. The International Journal of the History of Sport, 18(3): 117–38. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], ‘Baseball Arguments’, for further discussion.

⁵ Maguire Maguire, J. 1999. Global Sport: Identities, Societies, Civilizations, Oxford: Polity.  [Google Scholar], Global Sport, 97, 127, esp. 105–6; Magee and Sugden Magee, J. and Sugden, J. 2002. “The World at their Feet”: Professional Football and International Labor Migration. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 26(4): 421–37. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], ‘The World at their Feet’. Unfortunately, space constraints preclude more detailed discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of these typologies.

⁶ Carter Carter, T.F. 2007. Family Networks, State Interventions and the Experiences of Cuban Transnational Sport Migration. International Review of the Sociology of Sport, 42(2): 371–89. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], ‘Family Networks’.

⁷ Maguire Maguire, J. 2005. Power and Global Sport: Zones of Prestige, Emulation and Resistance, London: Routledge. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], Global Sport; Maguire, Power and Global Sport; Miller et al. Miller, T., Lawrence, G., McKay, J. and Rowe, D. 2001. Globalization and Sport, London: Sage.  [Google Scholar], Globalization and Sport; Giulianotti and Robertson Giulianotti, R. and Robertson, R., eds. 2007. Globalization and Sport, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.  [Google Scholar], Globalization and Sport.

⁸ Hannerz Hannerz, U. 2003. Being There…and There…and There! Reflections on Multi-Site Ethnography. Ethnography, 4(2): 201–16. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], ‘Being There’.

⁹ This differs from other publications and research on TSM in which extended ethnographic fieldwork was carried out in numerous locales (see Carter Carter, T.F., Donnan, H. and Wardle, H. 2003. Global Migrants: The Impact of Migrants Working in Sport in Northern Ireland, Belfast: Sports Council for Northern Ireland.  [Google Scholar], Donnan and Wardle, Global Migrants; Carter, ‘Family Networks’).

¹⁰ Henry Henry, I. 2007. Transnational and Comparative Research in Sport: Globalisation, Governance and Sport Policy, London: Routledge.  [Google Scholar], Transnational and Comparative Research.

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¹⁵ A variety of topics from sport and the media to global governance, international migration, consumerism and commoditization all basically reproduce this theoretical encompassment of the local by the global. I argue that if the two can be separated into different social spaces, and I am highly sceptical that they can, the two are congruent with each other and national and regional spaces – all of which intersect, overlap, and inform each other.

¹⁶ Beck Beck, U. 2002. The Cosmopolitan Society and Its Enemies. Theory, Culture and Society, 19(1–2): 17–44. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], ‘Cosmopolitan Society’; Held Held, D. 1995. Democracy and the Global Order, Cambridge: Polity Press.  [Google Scholar], Democracy and the Global Order; Robertson Robertson, R. 1990. “Mapping the Global Condition: Globalization as the Central Concept”. In Global Culture: Nationalism, Globalization and Modernity, Edited by: Featherstone, M. 15–30. London: Sage. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], ‘Mapping the Global Condition’; Venn Venn, C. 2002. Altered States: Post-Enlightenment Cosmopolitanism and Transmodern Socialities. Theory, Culture and Society, 19(1–2): 65–80. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], ‘Altered States’.

¹⁷ Maguire, Global Sport, 213.

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²¹ This includes those states not willingly accepting the neoliberal dream of a global world made in their image. Cuba is one such state. See Carmona Báez, State Resistance.

²² There are those exceptions, typically characterized as ‘failed states’, in which transnational organizations have sent military forces to act as ‘peacekeepers’. Examples include NATO intervention in the Balkans, and African Union intervention in Darfur, Sudan.

²³ Guarnizo and Smith Guarnizo, L.E. and Smith, M.P. 1998. “The Locations of Transnationalism”. In Transnationalism from Below, Edited by: Smith, M.P. and Guarnizo, L.E. Vol. 3–34, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.  [Google Scholar], ‘Locations of Transnationalism’, 8.

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²⁵ Miller et al., Globalization and Sport; see also Dabscheck Dabscheck, B. 2004. The Globe at Their Feet: FIFA's New Employment Rules – I. Sport in Society, 7(1): 69–94. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], ‘The Globe at Their Feet: FIFA's New Employment Rules – I’; Dabscheck Dabscheck, B. 2006. The Globe at the Their Feet: FIFA's New Employment Rules – II. Sport in Society, 9(1): 1–18. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], ‘The Globe at the Their Feet: FIFA's New Employment Rules – II’. Parrish and McArdle Parrish, R. and McArdle, D. 2004. Beyond Bosman: The European Union's Influence upon Professional Athletes' Freedom of Movement. Sport in Society, 7(3): 403–19. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], ‘Beyond Bosman’.

²⁶ Sklair Sklair, L. 2000. The Transnational Capitalist Class, Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.  [Google Scholar], Transnational Capitalist Class.

²⁷ Held, Democracy and the Global Order.

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²⁹ This particular aspect of state control is often overlooked and taken for granted by many people from Western liberal capitalist democracies, but is a fact of life in many places around the world, including Cuba. It is manifest in the passport checks undertaken at the airport BEFORE one is allowed to enter the gate area for boarding.

³⁰ Gregory Gregory, S. 2007. The Devil Behind the Mirror: Globalization and Politics in the Dominican Republic, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.  [Google Scholar], Devil Behind the Mirror, 39.

³¹ Etzioni Etzioni, A. 2007. Citizenship Tests: A Comparative, Communitarian Perspective. The Political Quarterly, 78(3): 353–63. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], ‘Citizenship Tests’.

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³³ Malkki Malkki, L. 1997. “National Geographic: The Rooting of Peoples and the Territorialization of National Identity among Scholars and Refugees”. In Culture, Power, Place: Explorations in Critical Anthropology, Edited by: Gupta, A. and Ferguson, J. 52–74. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], ‘National Geographic’.

³⁴ Clearly, states are not the only agents restraining professionals’ movements. INGOs, the European Union and other international organizations also play significant roles in the shaping of migratory patterns through their own regulatory schema regarding national representation. The Bosman ruling also has had an impact on TSM, particularly in relation to European Union labour law. States, however, are the focus of this article and so the others will have to remain for later consideration.

³⁵ Poli has produced a similar discussion from a slightly different theoretical approach. Poli is addressing the question of nationality and ethnic nationalism whereas the concern here is the strategies and manipulations of citizenship. The two concepts are different yet interrelated and these distinctions need further explication sometime in the future. Where Poli and I diverge is the question of deterritorialization, which I argue is a distraction from actual processes of power and does not constitute an actual removal of spatial concerns, whereas Poli appears to support such claims. See Poli Poli, R. 2007. The Denationalization of Sport: De-ethnicization of the Nation and Identity Deterritorialization. Sport in Society, 10(4): 646–61. [Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], ‘Denationalization of Sport’.

³⁶ This is a pseudonym.

³⁷ Magee and Sugden, ‘“The World at their Feet”: Professional Football and International Labour Migration.’

³⁸ This is apparent as FIFA sets the rules for transnational sports labour migration and was even more apparent when Bud Selig, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, decreed that he would determine star player Alex Rodriguez's status over which team he would represent in the inaugural World Baseball Classic, the United States or the Dominican Republic, and that Rodriguez had no say in the matter.

³⁹ Ong, Flexible Citizenship.

⁴⁰ Instituto Nacional de Deportes, Educación Física y Recreación (National Institute of Sport, Physical Education and Recreation).

⁴¹ Carmona Báez, State Resistance; Espinosa Martínez Espinosa Martínez, E. 2005. “Ethics, Economics, and Social Policies: Values and Development Strategy, 1989–2004”. In Cuba in the 21st Century: Realities and Perspectives, Edited by: Bell Lara, J. and Dello Buono, R.A. 57–100. La Habana: Editorial José Martí.  [Google Scholar], ‘Ethics’; Phillips Phillips, E. 2006. “Cuentapropismo” in a Socialist State”. In Cuba in Transition? Pathways to Renewal, Long-Term Development and Global Reintegration, Edited by: Font, M. and Larson, S. 107–24. New York: Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies, CUNY.  [Google Scholar], ‘“Cuentapropismo” in a Socialist State’; Ritter Ritter, A.R.M. 2006. “Cuba's Economic Reorientation”. In Cuba in Transition? Pathways to Renewal, Long-Term Development and Global Reintegration, Edited by: Font, M. and Larson, S. New York: Bildner Center for Western Hemisphere Studies, CUNY.  [Google Scholar], ‘Cuba's Economic Reorientation’.

⁴² Carter, ‘New Rules to the Old Game’.

⁴³ Calidad (quality) is a particular aspect of Cuban personhood evident in how one demonstrates expected morals, mores and values in everyday life. For a discussion on calidad, see Carter Carter, T.F. 2008. The Quality of Home Runs: The Passion, Politics, and Language of Cuban Baseball, Durham, NC: Duke University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], Quality of Home Runs, 160–5.

⁴⁴ Carter, ‘Family Networks’.

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⁴⁸ See Bjarkman Bjarkman, P.C. 2007. A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864–2006, Jefferson: McFarland & Co.  [Google Scholar], A History of Cuban Baseball, 386–420; Fainaru and Sanchez Fainaru, S. and Sanchez, R. 2001. The Duke of Havana: Baseball, Cuba, and the Search for the American Dream, New York: Villard.  [Google Scholar], Duke of Havana; Jamail Jamail, M.H. 2000. Full Count, Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.  [Google Scholar], Full Count, 73–101; Price Price, S.L. 2000. Pitching Around Fidel: A Journey into the Heart of Cuban Sports, New York: Ecco.  [Google Scholar], Pitching Around Fidel.

⁴⁹ This has been emphasized repeatedly in interviews I have conducted and in press conferences in which Cuban athletes publicly declare their motivations for ‘fleeing’ as ‘to be able to provide for my family’ and not in any overt repudiation of the Castro regime. It could be argued that these statements mask migrants’ true feelings because of fear for family members still in Cuba. However, considering the anonymity of my consultants I find this particular argument unlikely.

⁵⁰ Rogozinski Rogozinski, J. 1992. A Brief History of the Caribbean: From the Arawak and the Carib to the Present, New York: Meridian.  [Google Scholar], A Brief History of the Caribbean; Williams Williams, E. 1970. From Columbus to Castro: The History of the Caribbean, New York: Vintage Books.  [Google Scholar], From Columbus to Castro.

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⁵² Carmona Báez Carmona Báez, A. 2004. State Resistance to Globalization in Cuba, London: Pluto Press.  [Google Scholar], State Resistance, 86.

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⁵⁷ A balsero (rafter) is a Cuban who clandestinely builds a homemade raft and then either alone, or (usually) with a few others, launches it into the Florida Straits, a particularly dangerous and swift moving stretch of water.

⁵⁸ There is insufficient space to provide full detailed accounts for the reasons why these four had already obtained visa offers from another state. Suffice it to say, for the purposes of this article, that those four had made a previously unsuccessful attempt to leave Cuba that had received some publicity thereby attracting the attention of then Nicaraguan president Arnoldo Alemán.

⁵⁹ Ex-President Alemán is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Nicaragua for money laundering in which he used roughly 60 Panamanian bank accounts to launder about US$58 million allegedly stolen from Nicaraguan government coffers.

⁶⁰ Unfortunately, there is insufficient space to detail the methods used to travel from Nicaragua to Costa Rica in this article. The reasons for their belief are complicated and the space of this article prevents an accurate chronicle of all of the machinations that were involved in their illegal move from Nicaragua to Costa Rica and why they engaged in a second risk-laden journey. Those details will be forthcoming in a larger publication.

⁶¹ Anyone's sight, it appears, since I have been unable to trace them since they arrived in San José.

⁶² Brettell Brettell, C.B. 2007. Adjustment of Status, Remittances and Returns: Some Observations on 21st Century Migration Processes. City & Society, 19(1): 47–59. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], ‘Adjustment of Status’; Chavez Chavez, L.R. 1997. Shadowed Lives: Undocumented Immigrants in American Society, New York: Wadsworth.  [Google Scholar], Shadowed Lives; Ong, Flexible Citizenship.

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⁶⁵ Smith and Guarnizo Smith, M.P. and Guarnizo, L.E., eds. 1998. Transnationalism from Below, New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers.  [Google Scholar], Transnationalism from Below.

⁶⁶ I am thinking here of the work of Nina Glick Schiller and Michael Peter Glick Schiller, N. and Fouron, G.E. 2001. Georges Woke Up Laughing: Long-Distance Nationalism and the Search for Home, Durham: Duke University Press. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] Smith, among others, who make this point abundantly clear. See Glick Schiller Glick Schiller, N. 2005. Transnational Social Fields and Imperialism: Bringing a Theory of Power to Transnational Studies. Anthropological Theory, 5(4): 439–61. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], ‘Transnational Social Fields’; Glick Schiller and Fouron, Georges Woke Up Laughing; Smith Smith, M.P. 2005. Power in Place/Places of Power: Contextualizing Transnational Research. City & Society, 17(1): 5–34. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar], ‘Power in Place/Places of Power’, Smith and Guarnizo, Transnationalism from Below.