Social Integration of People With a Migration Background in European Sports Clubs

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Siegfried Nagel University of Bern

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Karsten Elmose-Østerlund University of Southern Denmark

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Jenny Adler Zwahlen Federal Office for Sport

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Torsten Schlesinger Ruhr University Bochum

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1123/ssj.2019-0106
First Published Online:
23 Apr 2020
In Print:
Volume 37: Issue 4
Page Range:
355–365
Restricted access

Policy makers often ascribe sports clubs an important societal role, as they can encourage the integration of people with a migration background. Questions then arise as to the extent that members with a migration background are integrated in sports clubs and what the factors are that play a role in this integration. The data for this research are drawn from a comparative study of 10 European countries. The analyses take a multidimensional approach to social integration and differentiate between the dimensions of understanding/acceptance, interaction, and identification. The results show that members with a migration background are relatively well integrated, but less so than other club members. There is a positive association between social integration and the volunteering, participation in competitions, long-term membership, and sports activities in teams.

Nagel is with the Institute of Sport Science, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland. Elmose-Østerlund is with the Centre for Sports, Health and Civil Society, Department of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark. Adler Zwahlen is with the Special Department for Integration and Prevention, Federal Office for Sport, Magglingen, Switzerland. Schlesinger is with the Faculty of Sport Science, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.

Address author correspondence to Siegfried Nagel at siegfried.nagel@ispw.unibe.ch.
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