(Gijs) G. van Campenhout MSc

Gijs van Campenhout is a PhD candidate at the Department of History. His PhD research is part of the Research Excellence Initiative (REI) Project ‘History, Sport and the Nation’ (Project leader Dr Gijsbert Oonk). 

Gijs focuses on the history of ‘nationality transfers’ of football players in the context of elite migration, changing nationality and ‘complex citizenship’ issues. He examines the emergence of ‘naturalized’ football players – representing the nation – in the FIFA World Cups (1930-2014) emphasizing how ideas, institutions, and the political and cultural context in this ‘global battle for talent’ have changed over time. His supervisors are Dr Gijsbert Oonk and Dr Jacco van Sterkenburg.

Gijs holds a Research Master’s degree in Regional Studies (2011) from the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, and an Educational Master’s degree for Pre-Higher Education Teaching in Geography (2012) from the Faculty of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Groningen. For his Research Master thesis, Gijs focused on place making activities by and (local and national) identity formation of rugby players at their New Zealand rugby club. In a revised form, the thesis is published (in 2014) as an article in the journal ‘Gender, Place and Culture: A Journal of Feminist Geography'.