‘We zijn vrienden in het veld’. Grenzen aan sociale binding en ‘verbroedering’ door sport

Abstract

In this article the social dimension of team sport participation is explored in relation to aspects of bonding and bridging social capital and social inequality. The results of interviews with thirty young and adult team sport participants show that team members can have important social value, but most contacts are rather superficial and restricted to the sport activity itself. In theory and policy it is often suggested that sport can enhance social integration between different social groups, but the data show that these are idealized images of traditional competitive club sport. Bonding and bridging (e.g., with respect to ethnicity, social class or sexuality) might occur on and/or off the field, but the nature and degree depend on the type of sport, gender of the team and ambitions and motivations of the team members. Moreover, bonding and bridging in sport are often accompanied by social distinction and exclusion. In traditional masculine defined sports like football, male bonding rituals may be integrative across ethnicity, but are often based on heterosexism and homophobia. The degree of bonding is influenced by a complex network of individual identifications and inclusionary and exclusionary mechanisms.