Social cohesion – contested concept, complex practice. Can sport help?

Alan Bairner
School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University

In an increasingly divided and fractious world, it should come as something of a relief that researchers are still interested in the possibility that sport can contribute to social cohesion even though one might legitimately question whether this can ever be achieved at least at the global level. Nevertheless, it is refreshing that some of the contributors to this collection of essays are also sufficiently reflective as to avoid make overly grandiose statements à la Nelson Mandela about what sport can achieve.

The book is divided into three parts. The first contains six chapters on the theoretical and conceptual design of sport for social cohesion. The second part comprises five essays on implementing sport for social cohesion programmes and projects. The third part consists of four chapters on understanding and evaluating sport for social cohesion programmes. These are followed by a conclusion written by the editors.

The editors have also provided an introduction which begins with the claim that ’over the last decade, sport and physical activity have become an increasingly recognised and implemented tool to foster social cohesion in cities and communities worldwide’ (p. 1). But recognised by whom? By academics who write about sport and social cohesion and/or who seek to implement programmes intended to produce social cohesion? What about those people who it is anticipated will be the beneficiaries of what are very often top-down projects?

The heavy lifting, if it is needed, is the work of those who have gained the respect of other members and not by people who bring programmes and projects to them.

In the opening chapter of Part I, one of the editors, Louis Moustakas, notes that we continue to see ’a rather uncritical usage of sport as a tool for development…[that] centres on sport as an inherently positive force which promotes values and behaviours conducive to greater social cohesion’ (p. 19). Whilst this is a timely and apt warning, it does not prevent, in some of the chapters that follow, the reproduction of a relatively uncritical view of what sport can achieve. Indeed, one might even argue that most of Part One is something of a homage to that general way of thinking. Indeed, how could it be otherwise given the title of the book?

It is for that reason that I have chosen to focus on Part II where we get to learn more about attempts to make the hopes expressed in Part I come to life. Marilen Neeten and the book’s other editor, Karen Petry, are responsible for an interesting chapter on the facilitation of social cohesion between Syrian refugees and Turkish host communities. They argue convincingly that ‘in the context of forced displacement and newcomers arriving in host communities, sport has been found to improve intergroup relations, reduce mistrust, and to serve as a starting point for joint community activities’ (p. 138). The authors accept, however, that ‘participation in sport alone may not lead to sustainable perception change and enhanced social cohesion’ (p. 138). It is disappointing, therefore, that they then gloss over ‘ethno-religious similarities’ (p. 127) which might be another significant factor assuming in this instance that groups belong to the same schools or branches of Islam.

Another insightful chapter is that of David Hudelist, Eleftheria Papageorgiou and Louis Moustakas who write about the Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC), the oldest civil society development organisation in Austria. Specifically, the authors discuss the implementation of the fairplay Initiative for Diversity and Anti-Discrimination’s activities surrounding the football Zajedno projects in the Western Balkan Region. In relation to bringing together diverse populations, the advice which the authors offer greatly exceeds what one often encounters in this area of research and facilitation. First, they suggest that ‘it is crucial to adopt non-competitive, collaborative, and mixed group sports activities’ (p. 149). Second, they recognise the value of ‘providing special events to generate excitement and community visibility for our programmes’ (p. 150). Finally, they regard it as crucial ‘to engage other stakeholders, as well as local communities in the design, implementation, and development of activities’ (p. 150). Amen to that!

Also in Part II is a chapter by Nick Sore and Stephen Reynard on sport and social cohesion in displacement contexts using the experience of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) so often in the news in recent years not least for its valiant efforts to provide aid and support in many parts of the world. They write that ‘UNHCR’s experience engaging with and through sport to promote social cohesion suggests that there is both great potential for sport- and play-based programming to contribute to creating socially cohesive communities, and a need to better understand how to measure and articulate its contribution’ (p. 166). They add, however, that ‘greater understanding of the limitations of sport to contribute to social cohesion, as well as the potential pitfalls or challenges relating to implementing sport- and play-based programmes in displacement settings, are required’ (p. 167).

Evaluation is the focus of the chapters in Part III. Several authors comment on the challenges that face those who seek to assess the utility of sport-based programmes aimed at creating social cohesion.  One problem that is largely ignored, however,  is that when academics take part in evaluation, often to demonstrate a capacity to generate external funding whilst also well-meaning, no doubt, they are too eager to please the programme creators and funders with the result that the same mistakes continue to be made, particularly those that reflect a lack of real understanding on the part of those who run the programmes of the people for whom the programmes are intended.

Social cohesion is actually a fact of life in countless communities throughout the world. Quite often sport is central to that cohesion. However, it is invariably more often the result of the efforts of people who live in these communities and who, sometimes perhaps even unconsciously, make it happen. The heavy lifting, if it is needed, is the work of those who have gained the respect of other members and not by people who bring programmes and projects to them. It can be added that the factors that help to facilitate the resultant cohesion may well be beliefs and social practices which those who firmly believe in the value of sport for promoting social cohesion might even find repugnant or, at best, incompatible with their own values which they seek to instil in others.

As the editors conclude, ‘fostering social cohesion requires significant engagement and work away from the pitch’ (p. 224). It also requires empathy and a willingness to listen and not just prescribe. This is a thought-provoking book. Like me, many will find some of it frustrating. Others, not yet mired in cynicism, may well find it inspiring.

Copyright © Alan Bairner 2025