EUKN - United Kingdom - Sport and ethnic minority communities

Sport and ethnic minority communities

Introduction

Reports on research which explored participation in sport and physical recreation by people from ethnic minority backgrounds in Scotland, and considered how barriers to participation could be overcome.

Description

This document:

reports on research which explored participation in sport and physical recreation by people from ethnic minority backgrounds in Scotland;
explores the barriers faced by people from ethnic minority communities with regard to participation in sport, covering issues such as: cultural barriers, lack of appropriate facilities and racial discrimination;
presents a number of targets and suggestions as to how they could be implemented; and
includes examples of good practice.

Background information

Whilst it is known that those from various ethnic minority backgrounds are disadvantaged in terms of participation in sport, only a limited amount of investigation into the issues has been undertaken and little is currently known about the barriers faced in Scotland. As such, sportscotland commissioned research to explore the overall issue of participation in sport and physical recreation by people from ethnic minority backgrounds. This document is SportScotland research report no. 78.

Methodology

The methodology involved desk research and interviews with people from ethnic minority communities and professionals.

Conclusions

This research:

finds that whilst cultural or religious beliefs can impact on an individual’s attitude towards sport, there was no evidence that they overtly disallow participation;
finds that the experience or fear of racial discrimination is by far the largest barrier, and includes not just physical/verbal abuse, but also institutional racism;
highlights the need to address key issues such as: availability and dissemination of information in an accessible format, attitudes and level of knowledge of service and information providers, provision of appropriate facilities and activities in a welcoming environment, and acceptance that the needs of ethnic minority communities are legitimate, not ‘special’.

Contact info

SportScotland
Phone: +44 131 317 7200
research@sportscotland.org.uk

Publication date

01/05/2001

Project finished

Researcher

Scott Porter Research and Marketing Ltd

Links

SportScotland Scott Porter Research and Marketing Ltd

Sport and ethnic minority communities: aiming at social inclusion (PDF, Eng, 299KB)

Document type

research

Themes

Urban Policy > Social inclusion & integration > Integration of social groups

Keywords

Ethnic minorities