The Role of Sport and Sport Environment in promoting integration and multiculturalism

Abstract

Sport has been widely recognized as a social tool for encouraging intercultural contact and promoting intercultural dialogue in modern multicultural societies. However, sports context can exacerbate ethnic conflicts and cause tensions, thus highlighting ethnic and cultural differences. Therefore, how the sports environment is shaped can significantly influence the outcome of intercultural contact. The purpose of the present study was to spotlight the role of sports and sports environments shaped by the coaches, in the acculturation process, through which individuals or groups of different cultures actively interact and exchange practices, values, and ways of thinking. To this end, important theories in the field of acculturation will be presented, and the role of sports in maintaining ethnic and cultural identity and in interaction with the host society will be discussed, based on the existing literature. Next, a brief overview of studies exploring the relationship between sports environment factors and incoming and host populations' acculturation preferences will be presented. Finally, future research directions that could provide valuable insights into the better use of sport in promoting integration and multiculturalism