PhD Study : Football Gambling and Youth in Africa

Apply and key information  

Summary

Reflecting the global popularity of gambling among young people, youth participation in football betting has risen exponentially across sub-Saharan Africa in recent years. This has been facilitated by the spread and prevalence of mobile technology; the widespread popularity of football aided by satellite media broadcasting; weak macro-level regulatory regimes; and a recognition by the sports betting industry that African youth constitute a potentially lucrative market. In keeping with wider concerns around the profound harms that frequently accompany gambling, the prevalence of sports betting has been cited as one of the most pressing public health and societal issues on the African continent.

Despite this, academic research on the drivers and implications of sports gambling is limited. Focusing on an African context(s) of the candidates choosing, this project redresses this neglect by exploring the intersections between young peoples’ engagement in formal and informal football gambling and how they survive and ‘navigate’ urban contexts characterised by poverty. It is particularly concerned with the subjective meanings that male youth attach to this practice and how these correlate with the tendency to dismiss gambling behaviours as ‘irrational’.

Research Questions;

The project is underpinned by four research questions that explore football betting from macro (industry), meso (familial and community), and micro (individual) level perspectives;

  1. How is sports gambling structured, promoted and regulated in Africa?
  2. What are the subjective motivations of male youth engaged in football betting?
  3. How is this practice understood, perceived and experienced and how does it articulate with transitions to respectable social adulthood?
  4. What are the macro, meso and micro consequences of sports gambling in African contexts?

Proposed Methodology

The proposed methods will be ethnographic and will seek to generate empirically grounded knowledge of football betting in an African context(s). This will involve participant observation of gambling behaviours, and their implications, among male youth. Semi-structured interviews and/or focus groups with participants in gambling will be key, alongside interviews with other actors in this industry, including regulatory authorities, government officials, representatives of sports gambling corporations and licensees of gambling premises/shops. Documentary analysis of policy/regulatory frameworks for gambling will also be employed. The mix of methods will accommodate the strengths of the candidate and will be negotiated with the supervisory team.

References will be requested for shortlisted candidates.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

  • Experience using research methods or other approaches relevant to the subject domain
  • Sound understanding of subject area as evidenced by a comprehensive research proposal
  • A comprehensive and articulate personal statement

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

  • First Class Honours (1st) Degree
  • Masters at 65%
  • Work experience relevant to the proposed project
  • Publications - peer-reviewed

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

  • Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
  • Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
  • Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

  • Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
  • Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
  • Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
  • Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living

Recommended reading

Abdi, T. A., R. A. C. Ruiter, and T. A. Adal (2015) ‘Personal, social and environmental risk factors of problematic gambling among high school adolescents in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’, Journal of Gambling Studies 31(1):59–72.

Louw, S (2017) ‘African numbers games and gambler motivation: “Fahfee” in contemporary South Africa’, African Affairs, 117 (466): 109–129.

Ssewanyana, D and Bitanihirwe, B (2018) ‘Problem Gambling among Young People in sub-Saharan Africa’, Frontiers in Public Health, 6(23): 1-6.

Tagoe, V. N. K., Yendork, J. S. and Asante, K. O. (2018) ‘Gambling among youth in contemporary Ghana: Understanding, initiation, and perceived benefits’, Africa Today, 64(3): 52-69.

Christiansen, C., Utas, M. and Vigh, H. E. (eds.) (2006) Navigating Youth, Generating Adulthood: Social becoming in an African context (Uppsala: The Nordic Africa Institute).

The Doctoral College at Ulster University

Key dates

Submission deadline
Friday 5 February 2021
12:00AM

Interview Date
Week Commencing 1 April 2021

Preferred student start date
Mid-September 2021

Applying

Apply Online  

Contact supervisor

Dr Paul Darby

Other supervisors