Sport as a vector for the social integration of vulnerable groups in the European Union

Abstract

Continental Europe has faced significant socio-political challenges in recent years: the 2008 financial crisis, the "refugee crisis" and the Covid-19 pandemic. This has resulted in an increasing social gap. The main aim of this research was hence to analyse the proposals of the European Union (EU) to promote the social integration of vulnerable groups through sport. Documentary analysis was conducted, with 75 documents selected and analysed following a systematic search in EUR-LEX. A book of families and codes was designed to systematize the information using the MAXQDA Analytics Pro 2020 software. The documentary analysis revealed increasing numbers of policies from 1985 to 2014, with a significant change from 2014 onwards. The EU’s proposed interventions to promote integration through sport were aimed at migrants, young people at risk of social exclusion, people with functional diversity, women, the LGTBI community and older adults. In conclusion, the EU considers that sport favours intercultural dialogue, promotes normalization and prevents social exclusion. However, these policies are based on asymmetric relations of inequality and power which reproduce naturalized inequalities due to a lack of critical perspective: sport alone does not integrate. Rather, there is a need to address cultural and religious characteristics and the specific needs of each group.