It’s a soccer team made up almost entirely of new arrivals and refugees to Australia. So how do the young players construct their identity and sense of belonging? And what about the young women facing narrow and discriminatory views of femininity at the club? How do they resist?
Episode 38: Overview
In this episode, we focus on a soccer team in the western suburbs of Melbourne Australia. A team made up almost entirely of new arrivals and refugees from the Horn of Africa (Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia).
Our guest (Ramon Spaaij) studied this team, its players and families over a 3 year period. And we’ll be unpacking his key discoveries.
In particular, how the players’ construct their identities, their sense of place, and belonging to their new country through soccer and sport more generally.
Also how the young women are resisting narrow and discriminatory views of femininity AND creating their own sports spaces.
Plus how sports clubs are serving their entire communities using strengths or assets-based approaches to drive change.
CLICK PLAY to listen to Ramon Spaaij
Episode Guest
Photo supplied: Ramon Spaaij
- Ramon Spaaij is an Associate Professor Sociologist in the College of Sport and Exercise Science at Victoria University (in Melbourne, Australia).
- He is also Professorial Chair in Sociology of Sport at the University of Amsterdam (in the Netherlands).
Episode 38 – Quick Guide
- Ramon’s emerging interest in soccer and sport
- The local soccer club on Ramon’s doorstep
- The challenges of running a local soccer club – for migrants & refugees
- Why migrants & refugees want to be involved in a soccer club
- The trans-national identities of the soccer players
- The generational differences in attitudes towards sport (parents and children)
- The gendered nature of sport
- Developing social and cultural capital through sport
- How playing sport challenges ideas about ‘femininity’ (Bodily capital and gender)
- Bridging capital: facing exclusion and discrimination in sporting clubs
- How sports clubs are using strengths and asset-based approaches to drive change
- The Lightning Round: cultural mobility and sport, cultural differences, participation, gender in sport, inclusion, one way versus two way processes to change
- The impact on Ramon – of researching his local soccer club (realisations of white privilege)
Having a Voice and Sense of Belonging in a Soccer Club – Episode Links
- Cultural Diversity in Community Sport: An Ethnographic Inquiry into Somali Australians’ Experiences – Ramon Spaaij
- Using Recreational Sport for Social Mobility of Urban Youth: Practices, Challenges and Dilemmas – Ramon Spaaij
- Centre for Multicultural Youth
- Football Federation Australia bans clubs from using ethnic names and logos – Kim Arlington and Saffron Howden
- A world away from the MCG, every round is multicultural round – Sean Gorman and Ramon Spaaij
Catch up on Pushing The Edge 2017
Support Pushing The Edge Podcast
- If this episode got you thinking or inspired you – please rate it, or write a short review of it in iTunes.
- Listen to previous episodes of this podcast – ‘Pushing The Edge with Greg Curran’ podcast archive.
- Connect with me, Greg Curran, on Twitter.
- AND thank you for listening and supporting the show.
Listen to More Education Podcasts
- ‘Pushing The Edge with Greg Curran’ is a proud member of the Education Podcast Network.
- Listen to more podcasts made by educators for educators.
