Cultural diversity in community sport: An ethnographic inquiry of Somali Australians’ experiences

Sport organisations aim to grow the participation of culturally and linguistically diverse communities, including newly arrived people from refugee backgrounds. Drawing on multi-sited ethnographic research conducted by the author at community sport organisations in the multicultural city of Melbourne, this paper examines the key factors that affect the sport participation experiences of Somali Australians. It is shown that interpersonal and structural barriers to sport participation predominate, and that the significance of these barriers varies according to age, gender and time in Australia. The paper concludes that in order to foster inclusive sporting environments in which people from refugee backgrounds can participate in a safe, comfortable and culturally appropriate way, refugee settlement needs to be understood as a two-way process of mutual accommodation requiring adaptation on the part of both the migrant and the host society.

► Explores the sport participation experiences of people from refugee backgrounds.
► Sport providers need to address interpersonal and structural barriers.
► Understand refugee settlement as a two-way process.
► Build trusting relationships with new arrivals and their families.