Race and ethnicity

Data on participation in sport and physical activity points to systematic and longstanding inequalities between different ethnic groups. Research suggests that such inequalities persist for the following reasons: mistrust, micro-aggressions, ignorance, not being made to feel welcome, and in extreme cases outright hostility and racism. This was supported by findings from the Sporting Equals led consultation undertaken in June 2024.

Key recommendations:

Ensure people from ethnically diverse backgrounds are represented at all levels of sporting activities and leadership to foster trust and connection.
Offer activities in familiar and accessible locations, especially for those who may have cultural accessibility concerns about sport spaces.
Embed anti-racist education within the organisation's culture, making diversity and inclusion a responsibility shared by all members of the workforce (including board level positions, sports staff, coaches, officials, volunteers etc.)

Practical improvements:

Create meaningful opportunities for ethnically diverse leadership and participation, creating visibility of a broad range of people involved in sports at all levels.
Host activities in venues within the local community to make sport more welcoming, building trust before moving participants to less familiar spaces.
Listen to understand specific barriers and needs through effective, culturally inclusive communication.
Collaborate with local organisations and use multiple outreach strategies to engage communities that may feel overlooked.
Engage grassroots organisations to expand reach and support them with funding and resources. These community-based sports initiatives are often volunteer led and provide an entry point into sport.
Diversify the workforce in coaching and administration to foster greater fairness, trust and inclusion.
Recognise that different groups have unique needs. Avoid assuming engagement with one segment covers all barriers. Individuals from ethnically diverse communities could also have a disability or live in a rural community.
Be clear about data collection and why certain communities are being engaged, providing support for understanding and completing forms as needed.
Invest in accessible venues, culturally inclusive activities, and consult with diverse community representatives to understand local needs.

Research findings

What did our research with the sector conclude?

General research evidence highlights an increasing interest in understanding the experiences of people from ethnically diverse communities within sport. This is evident in the large volume of academic and grey literature focused on this theme. This increased focus, particularly seen in recent publications, highlights ongoing systemic barriers, including discrimination and lack of representation, which impact participation. With active efforts from organisations like Sporting Equals, recent trends point to a demand for actionable changes in policy and practice to create more welcoming, equitable environments for ethnic groups facing exclusion.

The following comments are from the 2024 research study, reflecting the range of views expressed by participants.

"Sport is organised around... stereotypes that go with different sports... sports that are seen in very masculine ways."
"We talk about 'seldom heard communities'... because someone once said to me, 'We're not hard to reach; you just don't bloody listen.'"
"Sport in itself is a luxury for most people. The time taken to participate, the money to start participation, the resources needed to continue participation such as food, transport, washing facilities etc."
"Community organisations providing affordable sporting opportunities for ethnically diverse communities feel frustrated that local facilities, like schools, remain unaffordable or difficult to access."
"There is a lack of trust in the system, particularly from established ethnically diverse communities."
"Concerns about being excluded rather than supported prevent individuals from reporting incidents of racism."
"The lack of visible role models from ethnically diverse communities within leadership roles discourages others from considering a future within the sports industry."
"For people to engage, they need to see role models who look like them and come from similar backgrounds."

Barriers

Ignorance, Prejudice and Feelings of Not belonging

The data for participation in sport and physical activity point to systemic and longstanding inequalities between different ethnic groups. Research suggests that such inequalities persist for the following reasons: mistrust, micro-aggressions, ignorance, not being made to feel welcome, and in extreme cases outright hostility[1] and racism. This was supported by findings from the Sporting Equals led consultation undertaken in June 2024.

Economics

There is clear evidence of the link between race and economic disadvantage. Ethnically diverse communities, particularly Black African, Black Caribbean and Asian Muslim communities, are more likely to experience poverty and social exclusion and live in areas of multiple deprivation across the UK[2]. In Scotland, ethnically diverse people were four times as likely to live in an overcrowded household, and twice as likely to experience poverty and unemployment than White people[3]. Being able to afford suitable clothing and equipment is thus challenging for many people, making it more difficult to access sports.

Affordability is also an issue relating to sports facilities. A key finding from the Sporting Equals led consultation was that Community Organisations who are providing affordable sporting opportunities for ethnic groups facing exclusion feel frustrated that there are convenient local facilities that are not being used, such as schools, but are difficult or still too expensive to access.

Lack of trust

There is a lack of trust in the system, particularly amongst long-standing communities with histories of systemic marginalisation. Interventions that emerge from the top-down are seen as misunderstanding the problems, lacking conviction and are being undertaken out of obligation rather than with an authentic commitment to systemic change. Furthermore, reporting mechanisms about incidents which can have multiple layers (e.g. relate to racism or sexism or both) are not trusted with players having concerns about being further excluded rather than any action being taken.

Perceived hierarchies of inclusion

Related to the above, there is a perception within community sport that certain groups are receiving support and/or funding at the expense of others. Whether this is a reality or not, these perceptions need to be carefully addressed. Justification for allocating resources to particular groups needs to be robustly justified and when other minority groups feel they are not being recognised there needs to be open dialogue.

Communication

Existing organisations that are widening participation from within their own ethnically diverse communities are not being reached through existing communication channels and approaches. They therefore do not feel consulted enough or made aware of opportunities. This further feeds the lack of trust that some have about the processes designed to widen participation.

Pathways for progression

Research has identified a series of structural and cultural barriers experienced by coaches from ethnically diverse communities which have impacted their self-confidence and aspirations. This has had an adverse effect on the development of a more ethnically diverse sports coaching workforce[4]. Similar concerns were expressed with regard to administrative roles within the sport industry leading individuals to see such avenues as unviable career routes.

Lack of ethnically diverse leadership and participation

Related to above, there remains a lack of visible role models from ethnically diverse communities within leadership roles both at the elite level of all sports and within community/grassroots sports. This includes sports coaches and administrators. This discourages individuals from believing there is a future for them within the sport industry.

Intersections of exclusion

Ethnically diverse communities have different cultural needs and expectations. Alongside certain commonalities associated with institutional and historical racism that different communities may have experienced, there is also a need to pay attention to differences and inequalities between and within groups. For example, a third-generation individual with South Asian heritage will have very different experiences and attitudes to that of a New Scot seeking asylum, for example. Likewise, gender inequalities, economic inequality or disability also create different layers of disadvantage in ethnically diverse communities. Therefore, it is important to consider varying needs within different ethnic communities to understand who is involved or who is not engaging to be able to meet the needs of everyone.

What we can do about it

Diversify the workforce

Inclusive recruitment of staff and volunteers - Pay attention to recruiting staff and volunteers from a range of different communities, explicitly encouraging those from underrepresented ethnic communities to apply. This extends to all levels of the sporting infrastructure.

Create meaningful opportunities for ethnically diverse leadership and participation

Leadership for systemic change - Creating opportunities for ethnically diverse organisations and individuals to take leadership of interventions to make activities more inclusive is key to showing an authentic commitment to systemic change. People are more likely to respond positively to people with whom they identify, relate to their cultures and people who they feel that they can trust.
Coaches and session diversity - Interventions designed to encourage people from ethnically diverse backgrounds to participate in sport need to be attentive to who delivers the interventions and how it is delivered, as much as the programme content.

Collaborate with ethnically diverse community organisations

Diverse community representation - Representatives from different ethnic communities need to be engaged, as do Community Sport Organisations which are already widening participation. These organisations need to be adequately supported around engagement and widening provision.
Assess local landscape - Sport organisations need as clear a picture as possible of the local community landscape, who is being engaged and where this is being delivered to help create wider pathways and opportunities. Grassroots organisations need to be listened to.
Inclusive collaborations - Collaborations need to be inclusive of all potential partners. Mutual benefits need to be sought and the focus of widening opportunities for ethnically diverse communities must be maintained - even when motivations may differ across the sector.

Create safe spaces

Accessible and familiar spaces - Provide sporting activities in spaces that are accessible and familiar to underrepresented ethnic communities, this helps break down barriers, particularly for women who may have access challenges associated with childcare and other issues.
Building trust through consultation - Build trust with ethnically diverse communities before introducing them to unfamiliar spaces. It is important to find out what the concerns are about such spaces and what measures can be put in place to make them more inclusive.

Understand the Cultural Landscape and be Attentive to Intersectionality

Intersectional attention - Intersectional inequalities and cultural differences need to be recognised within the same ethnic communities and measures put in place to help support engagement. For example, Muslim women with disabilities will have different barriers to non-disabled Muslim men; established South Asian communities will have different needs to those of the New Scots claiming asylum; some individuals will be part of multiple communities, some will barely be part of a community at all.
Address inequalities in engagement - It is important to monitor which partner organisations are being reached and be attentive to particular communities that do not seem to be responding. Try to reach out through multiple approaches because some groups will feel like they are not being adequately consulted. Do not ignore such concerns as they may be a key barrier to engagement that has a straight forward solution.

Data collection

Clear communication - Be open about the reasons for widening participation in sport and why you are engaging with specific ethnic communities. It is important to be clear when asking for personal data that is being collected and how that data will be used and provide support for people to complete forms if needed.
Meaningful data collection - Data needs to help support the monitoring of the impact of widening participation and where gaps exist based on the populations of local areas.

Education

Anti-racist education - Anti-racist education should be embedded in organisations' cultures and mandatory for the entire workforce of an organisation. There is a need to raise awareness around subtle forms of racial prejudice, micro microaggressions and have mechanisms in place where organisations are supported to tackle these issues.
Action Plans - Diversity and Inclusion Action Plans should help monitor recruitment, data collection, and workforce profiling making everyone responsible for EDI - not just Scottish Governing boards, a particular job role or department.
Media work - Positive steps could be taken to use the media profile of sport to raise attention to sport barriers, bust myths relating to ethnicity and migration and showcase good practice where migrants are engaging in sport.