The continental drift to a zone of prestige: Women's soccer migration to the US NCAA Division 1 2000-2010

The question of migration across national borders is the focus here, that is, therecurrence of migratory streams to the US NCAA Division I in the internationalstory of women’s soccer. In particular, this chapter has two objectives: one, tochart a more accurate empirical picture of the development of migratory trails intothe NCAA Division I between 2000 and 2010; and two, to offer some explanationsfor this migration based upon the argument that women’s soccer in the US is azone of prestige for the game around the world, within which the NCAA DivisionI is an essential component. The chapter begins with an examination of some ofthe historical developments in women’s soccer in the US, these being an importantbackdrop. This is followed by an overview of the theoretical concepts informingthis discussion and the methodological process by which the migratory data werecollected. These pave the way for preliminary analyses, along national lines, ofthe ten-fold increase that has occurred in the total number of international (non-USnational) players migrating to the US between 2000 and 2010. In so doing weexplore the usefulness of the idea of zone of prestige as an explanatory concept.