Browsing by Author "Sebata, Emmanuel"

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From the Asia-Pacific to Africa: the involvement of stakeholders in the novel esports societies in the digital sport era
(Sport in Society, 2024-06-17) Sebata, Emmanuel; Li, Yanli
Esport is steadily evolving yet gaining recognition and critical mass although still in its infancy. Since it is a relatively new phenomenon, new potential stakeholders emerge. However, esports stakeholder panoramas in many Asia-Pacific and African societies have remained obscure. By incorporating the stakeholder theory, integrative literature review, focus group research design, this paper offers fruitful insights about the esport ecosystem in the digital sport era. The findings underpin that anchoring stakeholder relationships on technology adoption, hands-on stakeholder engagements and collaborations, institutionalization of gaming and esports tourism, entities can boost their competitiveness and momentum to flourish in the midst of legitimacy challenges and the growing antagonism with traditional sports. The result indicates that stakeholders occupy valuable space in the value chain. This paper’s key contribution is the proposing of a conceptual framework for augmenting growth, co-creation, governance, and future ecosystem mapping in the increasingly dynamic esport space.
Historical Review of Professional Football Migration Trends from Uganda in the Era of Liberalized Sport Labour Migration, 1964-2022
(The International Journal of the History of Sport, 2023-12-15) Li, Yanli; Sebata, Emmanuel
Elite football migration from Africa has drawn much scholarly attention. The social value attached to the ostensibly fortunate players crossing borders has grown expansively in the continent. Still, little empirical research is available on East African football. To lay the foundations to study Ugandan footballers’ transnational lives, history, and migration trajectory, a historical review of Uganda’s football migration trends is presented. Until 1962, Ugandan sports were under the British influence and control, athlete movement was restricted, football structures were flimsy, and the economy was in dismay. With professionalization, globalization, commercialization of sports, as well as the free movement of professional athletes endorsed by the 1995 Bosman Ruling, ushered in a new era of liberalized sport labour migration. Ugandan footballers were among those who participated in this phenomenon, sometimes using other African football leagues as a springboard to their desired destinations. While football migration in the early years was dominated by men, by the early 2000s women footballers also started departing, albeit at a slower pace and following distinct migration trajectories to their male counterparts. Moreover, Ugandan footballers do not follow a predictable or consistent migration patterns, exposing the need for indepth research into the unique migration trajectories and life histories.
One bird, one stone: professionalization of sport structures as a strategy for harnessing elite sport success in Uganda
(Sport in Society, 2025-01-22) Sebata, Emmanuel
This paper explores the significance of professionalization of sport in harnessing elite sport success in Uganda’s sport system. The study adopted qualitative and case study designs involving an exhaustive review of literature; in-depth semi-structured interview data analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings reveal that professionalization unblocks the channels for improved sporting training, competition, and performance; at elite sport events while at the same time triggering other unanticipated cross-level ‘ripple’ effects that buttress Uganda’s elite sport success. The professionalization process has however been punctuated by eminent barriers. This paper argues that professionalizing Uganda’s sport structures not only boosts the medal winning potential but also maximize its chances of tapping into the interminable benefits including; reducing amateur structures, bolstering mass sport, competitive and elite sport participation, raising the revenue generation potential of sports, and improving the general success on the pitch, all of which maximize sport contribution to Uganda’s economy.