Elite athlete migration has become a strategic phenomenon at the intersection of globalization and the commercialization of sport, with significant implications for talent management, the sports economy, and international diplomacy. Despite the growing body of research in this area, existing evidence on the drivers and consequences of athlete migration remains fragmented and heterogeneous. This study aimed to systematically identify and synthesize the push and pull factors influencing elite athlete migration and its associated consequences.

A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The research questions were formulated using the SPIDER framework. Searches were conducted in Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, SID, Magiran, and Noormags for studies published between 2010 and 2025. Following duplicate removal and study screening, 34 eligible studies were included in the review. Methodological quality was assessed using the 2018 version of the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). The data were analyzed through an integrated approach combining narrative synthesis with thematic analysis based on Braun and Clarke’s framework.

The findings revealed that push factors could be grouped into three themes: economic and livelihood-related factors, structural and managerial factors, and sociopolitical factors. Pull factors, in contrast, fell into three themes: professional and technical development, economic and welfare benefits, and civil liberties and social status. The main drivers of outward migration included job insecurity, inadequate income, mismanagement, patronage-based practices, and weak sporting infrastructure. By contrast, advanced facilities, transparent contractual arrangements, better welfare provision, and opportunities for professional development emerged as major destination-country pull factors.

Athlete migration can create opportunities for performance enhancement and financial independence, but it may also entail challenges such as identity crises, loneliness, and sporting limbo. Overall, elite athlete migration should not be viewed merely as an individual decision; rather, it is associated with structural imbalances between source and destination countries and may contribute to human capital outflows and diminished competitiveness in source countries. Accordingly, reforms in sports governance, stronger economic security for athletes, and sustained engagement with migrant athletes may play an important role in transforming the pattern of brain drain into one of brain circulation.