Journal of Physical Education and Sport ® (JPES), Vol. 24 (issue 8), Art 216, pp. 1943 - 1952, August 2024
online ISSN: 2247 - 806X; p-ISSN: 2247 – 8051; ISSN - L = 2247 - 8051 © JPES

Original Article

Formation of national volleyball teams: the impact of player migration
OLHA SHLONSKA1, OLHA BORYSOVA2, VIKTOR KOSTYUKEVICH3, YULIA YAKUSHEVA4,VADYM ADAMCHUK5, YEVHENIIA STRELNYKOVA6
1,2
National University of Ukraine on Physical Education and Sport, UKRAINE
3,5
Vinnitsia State Mykhailo Kotsyubynskyi Pedagogical University, Vinnitsia, UKRAINE
4
Vinnitsia National Pirogov Medical University, Vinnitsia, UKRAINE
6Kharkiv National Pedagogical University named after H.S. Skovoroda, UKRAINE
Published online: August 31, 2024
Accepted for publication : August 15, 2024
DOI:10.7752/jpes.2024.08216
Abstract.
Problem statement: The evolution of team sports is closely tied to the migration of highly skilled players andtheir concentration in the world's top leagues. Approach: The formation of national volleyball teams is
influenced by the migration of leading players to premier international leagues, considering their global
rankings. This migration enhances the teams' competitive performance in major international tournaments.
Results. The results of the study show that today, there is a migration of volleyball players, members of national
teams to the national championships of Italy and Poland, for women in Turkey and Italy, which can be traced tothe migration of legionnaires of the national teams of the USA, Serbia, France, and Brazil. It is confirmed that
migration processes in volleyball increase after a successful performance at the Olympic Games, manifested in
the transition of leading players to the world's major leagues. The analysis of the migration of players of the
Olympic Games and World Championships winners shows that a significant increase in migration processes inworld volleyball has been observed since 2012 (48.3% for men, 39.2% for women) and will reach its maximum
value in 2022 (53.0% and 46.8%, respectively). The analysis of the relationship between migration rates and theranking based on the results of the 2020 Olympic Games showed a positive correlation (r = 0.587) in theformation of men's national teams and a negative correlation (r = -0.373) in women's teams. There are alsostrong correlations between migration rates and the country's economic development level, highlighting thesignificant economic impact of volleyball (r = 0.287 for men, r = -0.368 for women). Conclusions. The analysisof the development of modern volleyball has made it possible to establish that today, its further
professionalization is taking place through the formation of professional structures in the Olympic system ofcompetitions. The use of modern international experience in the formation of national teams, considering thefactors of globalization, can be used in other team sports.
Keywords: Competitions, international leagues, legionnaires
Introduction.
In the conditions of fierce competition observed today in volleyball, which is intensified by
globalization, the sports industry is trying to achieve the highest sports results in the international arena by
constantly searching for highly qualified players, which leads to migration processes (Tainsky & Stodolska,
2010; Book at al. 2021).
Migration of athletes at the current stage of development of team sports, including volleyball, is global,
which is manifested in the movement of players within countries and continents and significantly affects
individual and team performance (Poli, 2019; Tertullian et al., 2020; Roczniok et al., 2016). One of the main
factors of migration highlights the transition of highly skilled athletes from lower-level leagues and theirconcentration in strong leagues of the world, which is manifested in the presence of migration flows of players,
resulting in an increase of legionary players in national championships of different countries (Koba at al., 2023;
Araújo at al., 2020). On the one hand, this trend contributes to the transition of the strongest and most talented
players in favor of professional leagues in countries with certain achievements in certain playing sports,
weakening the national championship. On the other hand, the players-legionnaires who are part of the national
teams of countries can demonstrate their professional abilities, which were acquired by gaining international
experience and participation in leading foreign clubs. The presence of this trend will allow for the strengtheningof the national teams with trained players, which can affect the effectiveness of competitive activity in the mostimportant international competitions.
Over the past 20 years, migration processes in volleyball have become widespread due to changes inmarket relations between clubs and foreign players, which has contributed to the commercial orientation of
attracting talented athletes to various world's top leagues (Dadelo et al., 2014; Afanasieiva, 2019; Budak & Kara,----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1943
Corresponding Author: OLHA SHLONSKA, E-mail: shlensk_o@ukr.net

OLHA SHLONSKA, OLHA BORYSOVA, VIKTOR KOSTYUKEVICH, YULIA YAKUSHEVA,VADYM ADAMCHUK, YEVHENIIA STRELNYKOVA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2022). Today, migration processes are observed in modern and reserved professional sports, which also affects
the formation process of national teams. This increases the relevance of selecting players who have gainedinternational professional experience in the world's top leagues and have completed several Olympic cycles,
which is the main factor in the successful performance of national teams in the Olympic Games and WorldChampionships. Therefore, identifying trends in the formation of national teams in volleyball, taking into
account the processes of player migration, requires scientific substantiation and will allow us to identify strategic
ways to improve the efficiency of competitive activity.
It becomes interesting that existing international studies mainly concern the peculiarities of players'
migration processes in the club competition system (Tumer & Koçer, 2017; Ruxanda et al., 2013; Rojo, 2020),
the relationship between nationality, citizenship, and migration in the formation of national teams (Oonk, 2021;
Van Campenhout, van Sterkenburg and Oonk, 2019).
Today, there is a universal opinion of experts who claim a positive contribution of foreign players to thedevelopment of the club competition system, which can be explained by the acquisition of specific skills in theworld's leading leagues, which can affect the performance of national teams (Xing Wang at al., 2020; Sobol,
2021; Mulazimoglu, 2021; Tavares at al., 2019). It becomes evident that the more talented and unique players
appear in the national championship, the better the national team results. At the same time, some experts point to
the negative processes caused by the migration of national team players, which is confirmed by the lack ofchemistry of the leading team in international competitions (Lago-Peñas et al., 2019; Jiang Ren-Shiang, 2017;
Da Silva, 2019).
Surprisingly, the analysis of the formation of national volleyball teams, considering the competitive
activity of legionnaire players in the Olympics and World Championships, remains insufficiently studied. In our
opinion, it is essential to identify the world's top leagues in men's and women's volleyball, where the mostsignificant number of legionnaire players - members of national teams - is concentrated. It should be noted that itis the success of performances in the most significant international competitions that increases the process of
migration of national team players to the strongest leagues in the world, and, conversely, the lower theinternational ranking of the team, the lower their demand for professional leagues in the world. Having analyzed
the primary studies in team sports, we have identified the positive impact of player migration and the success ofnational teams.
However, in this context, we have not found similar studies in volleyball concerning the peculiarities of
forming national teams considering migration factors, the concentration of players in the strongest leagues in theworld, and the relationship between international rankings and migration processes. In this regard, our work aims
to determine the peculiarities of forming men's and women's national teams in volleyball, taking into account theprocesses of international migration.
Material and methods
Participants
The stated experiment analyzed the indicators of 11 men's and seven women's national teams (1240
athletes) who were winners of the Olympic Games and World Championships from 2008 to 2022. In order todetermine the causal relationship between migration indicators, international team rankings, and the economic
development of countries, the migration paths of volleyball players from men's (144 athletes) and women's (144athletes) national teams that participated in the 2022 World Cup were analyzed.
ProcedureIn the experimental research, the migration corridors of each legionnaire player were studied, taking
into account their nationality, club, and country to which the player migrated, his role, and age. Based on theobtained data, the peculiarities of the formation of the national leading teams were determined, considering thenumber of legionary players included in their composition in different periods. Along with this, the main
objective of our study was to identify legionary players in different world leagues, which we released by the
migration rates of the men's national teams of the USA, Serbia, and France and the women's teams of Brazil,
USA, and Serbia.
The analysis of the obtained experimental data allowed us to determine the current trends in theformation of national volleyball teams, taking into account the processes of migration and the ratio of playerslegionnaires in the national teams (both leaders and outsiders) from 2008 to 2022.
Statistical analysis
The data obtained as a result of the analysis of competitive activity were processed using standard
statistical methods included in the Statistica 7.0 (Stat Soft) and MC Exel on a personal computer, including themethod of averages based on the calculation of the mean value (x), standard deviation (S), the percentage oflegionnaires in each national team, the relationship between migration rates and the international ranking ofteams, and the economic development of the country, using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r).
1944---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JPES ® www.efsupit.roOLHA SHLONSKA, OLHA BORYSOVA, VIKTOR KOSTYUKEVICH, YULIA YAKUSHEVA,VADYM ADAMCHUK, YEVHENIIA STRELNYKOVA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Results.
Migration in high-performance sports is the transition of talented athletes from one country to anotherwith a change of continent and confederation. Therefore, to study the trends currently present in team sports,
particularly in volleyball, which relates to the problem of forming the starting lineup of national teams, it isnecessary to study the patterns of international migration, which is a significant factor in globalization. In
basketball, the main factor that contributed to the processes of player migration was the interest of the media andthe broadcast of the Olympic Games and NBA competitions in the 1990s, which contributed to the formation of
new professional basketball leagues in different countries (Australia, Japan) and led to an increase in the numberof foreign players (Jiang Ren-Shiang, 2017; Gaenssle & Feddersen, 2023).
This trend is analyzed in Demachi's study (2003), where the author points to an increase in basketball
players in the 1990s from 400 thousand to 1 million in Japan. In football, one of the indirect factors of migration
is 1) continuation of players' sports careers based on further professional development; 2) analysis of countries
where football is intensively developing and countries have specific achievements in the Olympics and World
Cups; 3) availability of football academies and Olympic training centers, which ensures practical training of the
Olympic reserve; 4) improvement of the club competition system (Nouraie at al., 2023; Metelsk at al., 2023;
Marquez-Velarde at al. 2023).
The phenomenon of migration is also observed in volleyball. The free movement of skilled players fromone club to another between different countries and continents has increased significantly over the past 25 years,
as some restrictions on transfer market situations have been lifted, resulting in a commercially oriented clubtraining system. The study by Vanessa Silva Ponte et al. (2018) analyzes the peculiarities of volleyball players'
migration in Brazil, where volleyball is a national sport due to the achievements of the national and women's
national teams. Volleyball in Brazil gained intensive development due to the actions of the president of the SouthAmerican Volleyball Confederation de Carlos Arthur Nuzman, who proposed to unite sports clubs, media, andathletes into a single system and provided an opportunity for sponsors and patrons to finance clubs of different
leagues and national teams in official international competitions, which led to the attraction of qualified coaches
and the selection of talented players (Tumer & Koçer, 2017; Mostaert at al. 2022;). It was in the 1980s that there
was a demand for Brazilian volleyball players in the European labor market, which resulted from their successful
performance at the Olympic Games and World Championships. A striking example is the current coach of the
men's national team, Renan Dal Zotto, who, as part of the national team, after winning silver medals in the 1982
World Championships and the 1984 Olympic Games, signed contracts with well-known Italian clubs ''Pirelli'',''Parma'', ''Ravenna''.
Thus, the following factors are reasonable prerequisites for the development of the process ofinternational migration in volleyball (Risser, 2020; López-Serrano et al., 2023; Tsoukos, 2019):- a high level of competition in the national championship and in the national team to participate
in the most important international competitions;- the need for further professional development through the application of innovative and newscientific and methodological approaches concerning a particular country;- high level of material and technical conditions and salaries;- motivation for professional development and self-improvement.
However, along with the existing positive aspects of international migration, this process has negative
consequences. The main ones include transferring young and promising players capable of achieving the highest
sports results to other world leagues. In this situation, there is not only a loss of talent but also a rush to train aplayer, which can negatively affect the development of his potential and the duration of his sports career. The
result is that young players mostly migrate to mid-level global leagues instead of the strongest European leagues,
where the doors are open for high-class athletes and national team members. In this regard, it is necessary toanalyze the migrant players included in the national teams to participate in the most significant official
international competitions from 2008 to 2022, as reflected in Table 1.
As a result of the analysis, it was determined that the highest rates of legionnaire players in the national
teams are represented in the national teams: USA, where the average volume of legionnaire players is 93.6%,
Serbia (80.3%, with the highest value in 2008 - 83.3% and 2022 - 85.7%), France (70.4%, with the highest
values in 2016 and 2020 - 64.2% and 83.0%, respectively) and Germany (62.8% with the highest value in 2012 91.6%). Among the current leaders of world volleyball, there is an increase in the migration of Brazilian
volleyball players, which is especially evident in the 2014 and 2022 World Championships (50%). At the sametime, there is a decrease in the transfer of talented players from the national championships of Italy and Poland,
which may result from favorable contractual conditions for legionnaires and contribute to the strengthening of
the national championships of these countries. The European training system also influences modern world
volleyball (out of 10 represented winning teams, six countries are located on the European continent), which cansignificantly impact the justification of international migration trends.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1945
JPES ® www.efsupit.roOLHA SHLONSKA, OLHA BORYSOVA, VIKTOR KOSTYUKEVICH, YULIA YAKUSHEVA,VADYM ADAMCHUK, YEVHENIIA STRELNYKOVA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Table 1. Indicators of migration of players of volleyball teams, winners of the Olympic Games and WorldChampionships in the period from 2008 to 2022Команда

Performance of legionnaires who participated in the Olympics and World Championships

Х

%

Х

%

Х

%

Х

%

Х

%

Х

%

Х

%

25
16,6
28,6
0
100
91,6
−
91,6
−
33,3

Х
%
male
7
50
2
14,3
4
28,6
0
0
12
85,7
12
85,7
0
0
10
66,6
9
64,2
6
42,8

BrazilItaly
PolandRussiaUSA
Germany
Cuba
SerbiaFranceArgentina

5
0
5
0
12
10
−
10
−
−

42
0
41,6
0
100
83,3
−
83,3
−
−

5
0
3
3
13
5
3
11
6
5

35,7
0
20
16,6
92,8
31,2
21,4
78,6
42,8
35,7

3
2
4
0
12
11
−
11
−
4

5
1
2
0
12
−
3
−
10
5

42
8,3
16,6
0
100
−
25
−
83,3
41,6

4
2
4
−
13
7
8
17
11
10

28,6
10
28,6
−
92,8
33,3
36,3
77,2
78,6
47,6

5
0
4
0
12
−
−
−
10
12

41,6
0
28,6
0
100
−
−
−
83
100

7
0
1
0
11
8
12
12
10
14

50
0
7,1
0
78,6
51,7
85,7
85,7
71,4
100

BrazilUSA
China
SerbiaJapan
Italy
Russia

4
11
1
8
3
2
1

33,3
91,6
8,3
66,6
25
16,6
8,3

1
12
0
11
1
2
4

7,1
85,7
0
78,5
7,1
14,2
28,6

4
11
0
11
2
4
1

33,3
91,6
0
91,6
16,6
33,3
8,3

female
2
14,3
14
100
1
7,1
13
92,8
2
9,5
4
28,5
0
0

6
11
0
12
1
2
1

50
91,6
0
100
8,3
16,6
8,3

7
14
1
12
6
0
2

31,8
100
7,1
100
27,2
0
9,1

5
12
2
12
1
1
1

41,6
100
16,6
100
8,3
8,3
8,3

7
13
3
14
2
1
−

50
92,8
21,4
100
9,5
7,1
−

Note: *− Olympics; **− World ChampionshipIn women's volleyball, a much smaller number of countries have won the Olympic Games and WorldChampionships from 2008 to 2022 compared to men's national teams. There is a much smaller number ofnational teams with high migration rates, which indicates an effective training system in these countries and arobust national championship, which constitutes the necessary prerequisites for long-term practical training of
national teams. The undisputed leader in terms of quantitative and qualitative indicators of migration processes is
the US national team, with an average of 94.1%, with the highest values (100%) in 2014, 2018, and 2020. This isdue to many volleyball academies that train gifted young athletes and centralize the preparation of the Olympic
reserve for participation in the national championship and significant continental competitions. There is also atendency to increase migration processes in the Serbian women's national team (from 2016 to 2020, the national
teams are formed only by legitimate players, which is 100% of the total number of players). At the same time,
the Chinese national teams have the smallest number of legionnaires (an average of 7.5%, with the highest
number in 2020 and 2022 at 16.6 and 21.4%). While men's volleyball is currently experiencing a gradualmigration of players to European leagues in order to gain international professional experience as leading
national team players, women's volleyball is, on the contrary, attracting leading players to the club training
system (Melissa Vargas (''Tianjin''), Kim Young-Kun, Jordan Larson (''Shanghai''), Diane Boskovic(''Shenzhen'')). However, to develop the national championship and create a high level of competition in 2022,
the Chinese Volleyball Federation decided to limit the number of legionnaires to 1 player (the smallest in theworld), which, in our opinion, may be political. The specifics of the Chinese championship are significantly
different from those of European countries, as reflected in its duration (it ends earlier than the transfer window inEurope). Therefore, in such conditions, legionnaire players consider participating in the Chinese championshipto sign lucrative contracts with a subsequent transfer to European clubs.
Figure 1 shows the dynamics of the ratio of legionnaire players who were members of national
volleyball teams participating in the Olympic Games and World Championships.

− male;femaleFig. 1. The dynamics of the ratio of legionnaire players who were members of national teams
participating in the Olympic Games and World Cups from 2008 to 2022, %.
1946---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JPES ® www.efsupit.roOLHA SHLONSKA, OLHA BORYSOVA, VIKTOR KOSTYUKEVICH, YULIA YAKUSHEVA,VADYM ADAMCHUK, YEVHENIIA STRELNYKOVA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The analysis results of the formation of national men's volleyball teams show a significant increase in thenumber of legionnaires who played in other international leagues in 2012 (48.3%). At that time, the labor market
was in demand for volleyball players from the USA, Serbia, and Germany. Since 2018, there has been a gradualincrease in the number of legionnaire players from 48.1% to 53.0% in 2022 due to the focus on training national
teams with the participation of players in several Olympic cycles and further emphasis on training the immediate
reserve as the leading team composition in the next Olympic Games and World Championships. In the formationof women's national teams, there is a tendency for a more gradual increase in the number of legionnaire players,
starting in 2012 (39.2%) and reaching its maximum value in 2022 (46.8%).
High-performance sports and team sports, in particular, are increasingly becoming a business andentertainment sector, with volleyball ranking third in popularity after football and basketball. The global
pandemic has had a significant impact on the development of the club volleyball competition system due to thebankruptcy of sponsors and reduced budgets for financing teams, which has led to a revision of contractual terms
for players in various global leagues, taking into account the end of not only national championships but alsointernational official competitions. While in France, the government ensured that team players' salaries were paid
at 84% (a 7% reduction), in Italy, which has the most significant number of legionnaires, the reduction was 1520%. In this regard, countries with low national championships refused to attract foreign players, whichsignificantly affected their preparations for the Olympic Games held in 2021. An example is the German men's
national team, where most of the teams had legionnaires in their line-up (only one player with a German passport
was on the court). In our opinion, this was the main factor that influenced the process of preparing the nationalteam and its failure to qualify for the Olympic Games.
A critical issue is determining the peculiarities of the international migration of volleyball players todifferent world leagues. The level of the strongest leagues is determined by the success of clubs at the start of theseason, the availability of an influential player training system, and the number of legionnaires and members of
the national teams of the sending country. The analysis of this area of our research will allow us to identify
current trends and scientific directions in the formation of national teams in volleyball, taking into account theinclusion of legionnaire players who gained professional experience in the previous Olympic cycle. Suppose theleading teams (Italy and Brazil) have a slight migration of national team players. In that case, a detailed analysisof the formation of these processes in countries with a lower level of volleyball development is required. Tables
2 and 3 show the ratio of legionnaire players, members of men's and women's national teams, that participated in
the Olympic Games and World Championships from 2008 to 2022.
Table 2. The ratio of legionnaire players in the men's national volleyball teams USA, Serbia, and France
based on the results of performances in the Olympic games and World Championships from 2008 to 2022, %.
Countries that accept legionnaire
players
Italy
RussiaPolandFranceGermany
TurkeyGrece
Brazil
Korea
Austria
IsraelQatar
Indonesia
Iran

Х
25
25
16
6
6
3
3
3
3
3
2
1
1
−

%
25.7
25.7
16.6
6.2
6.2
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.1
3.1
2.1
1.0
1.0
−

National teams
Serbia
Х
%
33
46.4
8
11.3
7
9.8
3
4.2
4
5.6
4
5.6
2
2.9
3
4.2
2
2.9
−
−
1
1.4
−
−
−
−
1
1.4

Slovenia
Romania
China

−
−
−

−
−
−

3
−
−

USA

4.2
−
−

France
Х
25
3
13
−
−
6
1
1
1
−
−
3
−
−

%
44.6
5.4
23.2
−
−
10.6
1.8
1.8
1.8
−
−
5.4
−
−

−
−
3

−
−
5.4

An analysis of the migration of highly qualified volleyball players and members of national teams in the
period from 2008 to 2022 shows that the most significant number of players is concentrated in the strongest
European clubs, ''Modena'', ''Monza'' and ''Perudja'' (USA – 25/7%, Serbia − 46.4%, France − 44.6%). Notably,most of the leading American volleyball players (Matthew Anderson, William Priddy, and Aaron Russell) who
have played in three Olympic cycles were part of these teams, which significantly strengthened the Italiannational championship. An interesting fact is that the achievements of the US men's national team in theinternational arena in 2008 led to an increase in migration processes. In this case, players receive high salaries----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1947
JPES ® www.efsupit.roOLHA SHLONSKA, OLHA BORYSOVA, VIKTOR KOSTYUKEVICH, YULIA YAKUSHEVA,VADYM ADAMCHUK, YEVHENIIA STRELNYKOVA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------and are provided with a transition to teams with a higher international rating. There is also a tendency for players
to migrate to the Polish championship (16.6% of US players, 9.8% of Serbian players, and 23.2% of French
players), where the leading clubs are still ''PGE Skra'', ''Radom'' and ''Resovia''. An interesting fact is the
migration of national team players to the Russian championship, which by 2022 concentrated a significant
number (28.2%) of the leading American players in top-level clubs (''Zenit Kazan'', ''Lokomotiv Belogorye''):David Lee, Maxwell Holt, and Eric Shoji. At the same time, in the period from 2018 to 2022, well-known
Serbian volleyball players appeared in the Russian club system: Petar Krsmanović, Marko Ivović, and Dražen
Ljuburić, which ensured the participation of lower-ranked teams in the national championship. Today, there is asignificant decrease in the number of legionnaires in the Russian championship, where the club training system
focuses on attracting Serbian and Bulgarian players (who do not have high achievements in the national teams).
Thus, it can be stated that today, in modern volleyball, leaders are changing among the strongest world leagues,
where clubs of the Italian and Polish championships occupy high rankings.
However, at the same time, there is a tendency to change migration corridors in the club competition
system, which is aimed at further transfer of the most outstanding athletes: Ricardo Lucarella (Brazil), Bartosz
Kurek (Poland), Aaron Russell (USA), and Nimir Abdel Aziz (Netherlands) to the Japanese Volleyball League
due to million-dollar contracts in the top-ranked teams and $200,000 in the bottom, which changes the situationon the transfer labor market. Unlike the Italian system of selecting legionnaire players, in Japan, a team can
include no more than three legionnaires in its application, one of whom must be from the Asian continent. Thisapproach will allow for attracting top and well-known volleyball players without disrupting the system oftraining the nearest reserve.
championship: 28.6% (''Imoko Volley'', ''Piacenza''), 18.5% (''Fenerbahce'', ''Ejzadzhibashi''), and 11.1%(''Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Springs'', ''Toyota Auto Body Queenseis''). The most significant volume ofvolleyball players on Serbian national teams is also concentrated in the championships of Turkey (26.8%), Italy(19.3%), and Romania (14.0%).
Table 3. The ratio of legionnaire players in women's national volleyball teams USA, Brazil and Serbia based on
the results of performances in the Olympics and World Championships in the period from 2008 to 2022, %.
Countries that accept legionnaire
players
TurkeyItaly
RussiaAzerbajan
Switzerland
Spain
Japan
USA
China
PolandBrazilGermany
Korea
Czech Republic

Х
20
31
7
7
4
−
12
−
8
4
7
4
2
2

%
18.5
28.6
6.5
6.5
3.7
−
11.1
−
7.4
3.7
6.5
3.7
1.9
1.9

National teams
Brazil
Х
%
17
47.4
7
19.5
5
14.0
1
2.7
1
2.7
1
2.7
1
2.7
1
2.7
1
2.7
1
2.7
−
−
−
−
−
−
−
−

Romania
France
Grece

−
−
−

−
−
−

−
−
−

USA

−
−
−

Serbia
Х
25
18
2
4
9
−
3
−
1
7
−
3
1
1

%
26.8
19.3
2.1
4.3
9.7
−
3.2
−
1.1
7.6

13
5
1

14.0
5.4
1.1

3.2
1.1
1.1

The analysis of the migration of highly qualified volleyball players and members of national teams tovarious international leagues shows that today, there is a need for Serbian, American, and Brazilian volleyball
players in the national championships of Italy and Turkey. The majority of Brazilian volleyball players (47.4%)
concentrate on the Turkish championship (''Fenerbahce'', ''Vakyfbank''), and 19.5% concentrate on the Italian
championship (''Savino Del Bene Scandicci'', ''Igor Gorgonzola''). Athletes of the US national teams mainlytransfer to clubs of the Italian championship: 28.6% (''Imoko Volley'', ''Piacenza''), 18.5% (''Fenerbahce'',''Ejzadzhibashi''), and 11.1% (''Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Springs'', ''Toyota Auto Body Queenseis''). The mostsignificant volume of volleyball players on Serbian national teams is also concentrated in the championships ofTurkey (26.8%), Italy (19.3%), and Romania (14.0%).
According to the research results, most athletes today are concentrated in European leagues, the leading
training centers in modern volleyball, taking global trends into account. The intensive development of volleyballin these countries, the transformation of sport into a business industry, high salaries for foreign players, the highprofessional competence of coaching staff, and material and technical facilities have become the main factorsthat have influenced the migration in volleyball. It should be noted that migration processes have increased in
1948---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------JPES ® www.efsupit.roOLHA SHLONSKA, OLHA BORYSOVA, VIKTOR KOSTYUKEVICH, YULIA YAKUSHEVA,VADYM ADAMCHUK, YEVHENIIA STRELNYKOVA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------those countries where national teams have successfully performed at the Olympics and World Championships.
An example is the US men's national team, whose players became in demand after winning bronze medals at the
XXXI Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and signing contracts with well-known European clubs. It
should be noted that the host country's economic development also influences international migration. Table 2
shows the relationship between the migration of national team players, the economic development of hostcountries, and the international ranking of teams.
The analysis of the relationship between migration and the ranking of national teams based on their
participation in the 2020 Olympic Games confirms a direct correlation (r=0.587), which indicates that in men's
volleyball, there is a tendency to attract national team players to the strongest leagues in the world who havewon prizes in official international competitions. The information concerning the formation of women's
national teams is fascinating. Today, there is a negative correlation (r=-0.373), which is explained by the needfor high-class volleyball players in the labor market, especially for American, Serbian, and Brazilian athletes,
who are currently the leaders in world volleyball. At the same time, there are relatively low correlations
between migration and economic development in men's national teams (r=0.287) and women's national teams(r=-0.368).
Table 4. Relationships between the migration of volleyball players from internationally ranked teams and theeconomic development of the country hosting the Legionnaires in 2022
National
team

Male
Performance rating
Migrationin the Olympics
in 2022,
2020
%

S

Italy

6

6,1

58,6

Total
GDP,
trilliondollars
in
2020
2,26

USA
FrancePolandBrazilJapan
Argentina

10
1
5
4
7
3

93,7
61.6
21,3
39,3
41.6
57,2

33,2
0,4
8,6
23,8
21,4
11,0

25,46
3,05
0,691
2,000
4,232
0,389

Tunisia
Canada

11
8

93.7
91,6

33,2
31,0

0,046
2,138

Iran
Venezuela
Х

9
12

82.3
93.7
62,0

21,3
33,2
25,1

0,413
0,195
3,715

r=0,587

National
team

FemalePerformance Migration
rating inin 2022,the%Olympics
2020

S

USA

1

92,8

63,5

Total
GDP,
trilliondollars
in
2020
25,46

BrazilSerbiaKorea
TurkeyItaly
Dominican
Republic
China
Japan

2
3
4
5
6
8

50,0
100,0
7,1
9,5
7,1
78,5

18,6
71,1
26,3
23,8
26,3
48,5

2,000
0,063
1,674
3,355
2,264
0,113

9
10

21,4
9,5

11,3
23,8

12,7204,232

Argentina
Kenia

11
12

71,4
7,1
32,2

41,1
26,3
34,6

0,389
0,113
4,760

r=-0,373
r=0,287r=-0,368

Discussion
This article examines the peculiarities of forming men's and women's national volleyball teams that won
the Olympic Games and World Championships from 2008 to 2022. The processes of international migration inteam-game sports, including volleyball, have significantly increased over the past 20 years, which characterizes
the impact of globalization on their development. Most studies on athletes' migration have been considered fromthe perspective of management theory, with the subsequent identification of political, socio-economic, andcultural factors that influence its course (Campenhout & Sterkenburg, 2019; Risser, 2020; López-Serrano, 2023).
Interestingly, the issue of the peculiarities of the migration of athletes in volleyball in the international
bibliography is found only in the work of Pontes et al., V.S. (2018), which aroused interest in this scientificdirection, especially concerning the formation of national teams.
The empirical results of our research allow us to reveal two directions that influence the formation ofnational teams in volleyball. Firstly, it was found that the migration of volleyball players who were members of
men's and women's national teams increased with their international ranking. This is primarily because thesuccessful performances of national teams at the Olympic Games led to an increased interest of critical athletes
in the international club system of competition. In other words, the migration of athletes depends on sports
results, which is confirmed in the study by Lago-Peñas Carlos et al. (2019). Secondly, the ratio of legionnaire
players in different world leagues was determined, which formed a prerequisite for predicting the success ofnational teams, considering the international ranking and the strength of the host country's national
championships. It is determined that most of the leading players who were in the men's national volleyball teams
were concentrated in the Italian championship and in the women's in the Turkish championship, which indicates----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1949
JPES ® www.efsupit.roOLHA SHLONSKA, OLHA BORYSOVA, VIKTOR KOSTYUKEVICH, YULIA YAKUSHEVA,VADYM ADAMCHUK, YEVHENIIA STRELNYKOVA--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------their high rating among other world leagues, where the key factors are the effectiveness of competitive activity
in club world championships and European cups.
An essential component of our study is determining the relationship between migration rates in theformation of national teams in 2022 and the ranking in the standings based on the results of performances in the2020 Olympic Games. It is determined that in men's national teams, the migration process depends on the
ranking place; in women's teams, on the contrary, the lower the team's ranking, the higher the migration. This isbecause women's volleyball, at the current stage of its development, has seen a change of leaders, where, alongwith the USA, Italy, and Brazil, the bronze medals of the 2020 Olympic Games were won by the Serbiannational team, 100% of whose athletes gained professional experience in the leading clubs of the European
confederation (Turkey: 6 volleyball players, Romania: 3; Brazil and Poland: 1 each). Concerning the impact of
the economic development of the ‘donor country’ on the level of migration, insignificant positive correlations
were found for men (r = 0.287) and harmful for women (r = -0.368). The results obtained indicate that inaddition to the presence of legionnaires in the national teams, considerable attention should be paid to themigration of players to the world's strongest leagues, building an effective training system that should be basedon the specifics of training players of different roles, taking into account global trends.
Conclusion
1. The development of the modern variety of higher achievements, in particular its team games, isinextricably linked to the processes of globalization, where the main feature is the migration of athletes anddepends on the following factors: recognition through professional growth, improvement of social status basedon higher wages, exchange of cultural and national values in order to expand international contacts andparticipation in the national championship of another country or as part of national teams.
2. Based on the theoretical analysis, it was found that in the period from 2008 to 2022, the highest
migration rates among men's national team players were in the USA (93.7%), Serbia (80.4%), France (70.4%),
Germany (62.8%), and for women, the USA (94.1%), Brazil (32.6%), and Serbia (91.1%), which affected theresults of their performance in the Olympics and World Championships in certain periods due to the transitionof athletes to the strongest leagues in the world.
3. The statistical analysis results show that the migration of players is influenced by the ranking of thenational team in the previous Olympic cycle (for men, r = 0.587; for women – r = -0.373). The indicator of
economic development of the country (r = 0.287 and r = -0.368, respectively) has a very low correlation, whichindicates the need to build an effective training system, strengthen the national championship, and increase theand increase the availability of high-class specialists and Olympic training centers.
4. The study of the peculiarities of migration processes in volleyball allowed us to identify the main
trends in the formation of men's and women's national teams, where the main factor is high sports results in the
Olympic Games and World Championships, which is confirmed by the transition of leading players to the best
clubs in the world with a high international rating, and, conversely, players of national teams who did not
become prize-winners in the most important international competitions move to clubs with a low rating.
5. The analysis of the development of modern volleyball has revealed that today, its further
professionalization is taking place through the formation of professional structures in the Olympic competition
system. The use of modern international experience in the formation of national teams, considering the factors ofglobalization, can be used in other team sports.
Conflicts of interest - No conflicts of interest are to be declared.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization – O.S. and O.B.; methodology and statistical analysis –V.K.; datacollection – Y.Y., Y.S.; writing – original draft preparation – O.S.; writing – review and editing – O.B.;
visualization – V.A. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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