Negotiating Belonging: Alternative Narratives Around Identity and Community in Dutch Sport Spaces
Exploring how diverse communities reshape belonging through sport
Overview
As a part of the bigger consortium; Re/presenting Europe, this project aims to understand the role of sport and sport narratives in the processes of belonging in and around sport spaces. The role of sport representation in the development of a collective identity has been vastly researched, yet the assumption of homogeneity denies the role of these narratives in community building in diverse spaces.
This project, thus, recognises the role of hegemony (Hall, 2019) within the access of belonging. This means recognising that power relations affect the search for belonging. Difference has been seen as a challenge to the sustainability of nationalism and therefore has predominantly been tackled through the erasure and/or exclusion of this difference from the hegemonic narrative of belonging (Harris et al., 2021)
Nevertheless, Hegemonic ideologies are not the total determinant of how people perceive their belonging and that of others around them. The multiplicity of identities that exist in the city is a vehicle for other ways of connectivity and community building. Communities that are often inherently seen as foreign and ‘other’, find spaces and moments where their belonging is not merely a practice of assimilation or taking place within the hegemonic discourse.
The role of this project is to capture these alternative narratives and understand their influence on the belonging of people in diverse environments. We aim to see how people find connection and community, and how sport participates in this process. Through participation in games and practices, in-depth conversations and deep hang-outs, we seek to gather information around the experiences of sport participants in baseball, athletics and football to understand how they see themselves and each other.
Ongoing
“Belonging is not just granted, it’s negotiated, reimagined, and played out on the field”
Preliminary insights suggest that belonging in sport is not merely about assimilation into dominant structures but about creating spaces of recognition and shared identity. Participants often use sport as a means to challenge exclusionary norms, forming new modes of community that reflect the plurality of urban life in the Netherlands.
Project Team
Key Goals
Explore how sport narratives contribute to processes of belonging and identity formation in diverse communities.
Capture alternative, community-driven stories of connection that exist beyond dominant national or cultural discourses.
Understand how power relations and hegemonic ideologies shape access to belonging within sport environments.
Methodology
Qualitative Exploaration
Conducting in-depth interviews and focus groups with athletes and participants from baseball, athletics, and football communities to understand their lived experiences of belonging.
Ethnographic Engagement
Using observations and “deep hang-outs” to capture how identity and connection are expressed and negotiated within everyday sport practices.
Action-based Approach
Applying participatory and reflexive methods that not only study but also engage with communities to co-create understanding around inclusion and diversity in sport spaces.
