Ukrainian refugees and the Swedish sports movement – new opportunities and challenges

ABSTRACT

Research Question

The war in Ukraine has forced approximately eight million people into neighboring European countries. As part of sports clubs’ societal commitment, many have received Ukrainian refugees. However, compared to previous so-called ‘refugee waves’, forced migration from Ukraine is different in terms of demographics, culture, and (sports) traditions. This paper aimed to assess these ‘new’ nuances and their implications for the European sports movement.

Research Methods

Data were gathered through 17 semi-structured interviews with Swedish sports club representatives, analyzed with a critical realist-inspired thematic analysis, and interpreted with Bronfenbrenner’s process-person-context-time framework.

Results and Findings

The representatives expressed that Ukrainian refugees are more in-tune with organized sports compared to other refugee populations; however, there are also culturally discrepant ideas about sports. Specifically, there seems to be an influx of skilled (youth) refugees, who approach sports in ways incompatible with Swedish conventions about youth sports. While the sporting capital often enables easier inclusion, it also presents challenges in extreme cases.

Implications

The findings show that the European sports movement must be attentive to new challenges and opportunities associated with the current humanitarian crisis. Sports representatives need to balance culturally sensitive approaches with ethical considerations regarding youth sports.

KEYWORDS:

• Ukraine
• sports clubs
• integration
• migrants
• refugees

Introduction

Since the 24th of February 2022, almost eight million Ukrainians have been displaced to other European countries (UNHCR, 2022). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that the majority of these refugees are at an elevated risk for non-communicable diseases, poor health, and social exclusion (WHO, 2022). With the so-called ‘refugee crisis’ (Michelini, 2021) in 2015 as an illustrative reference, European voluntary sports clubs (VSCs) are not unfamiliar with the challenges and political expectations placed upon them to address such issues. However, although there are many similarities compared to the 2015 ‘crisis’, there are also aspects that are different. Firstly, VSCs now have more experience in working with these issues (Doidge et al., 2020; Nowy et al., 2020; Tuchel et al., 2021), which suggests that sports movements may be better prepared and have an enhanced understanding of sports delivery for refugees. Secondly, demographic markers are different. Whereas young men were usually the targeted group in 2015 and onwards, the refugees from Ukraine are predominantly women, children, and elderly. There is also an emergent discourse on cultural proximity. Specifically, De Coninck (2022) highlights that Ukrainian refugees might be better treated because they are perceived to pose less of a cultural threat, and share racial features with western societies.

This paper aimed to explore facets of the ‘new’ humanitarian crisis and implications for sports movements, utilizing Swedish VSCs as an illustrative case. Sweden, a country of 10 million inhabitants, has been a major destination for migrants and refugees for several decades. For example, regarding the ‘refugee crisis’, Sweden received 163,000 asylum-seekers only in 2015. Currently, approximately 50,000 Ukrainian refugees reside in Sweden (UNHCR, 2022). In addition, the Swedish sports movement has, over the past decades, increasingly been used by the government to address social policy goals, notably refugees’ integration. Sports have made their way into Swedish social policy to a large extent, and Swedish VSCs are increasingly being recognized as welfare providers. However, as Agergaard (2018) noted, refugee and migrant groups are diverse, and bring with them differing experiences and knowledges – this extends into sports as well. Linked to De Coninck’s (2022) comparison of responses to events in Ukraine and Afghanistan, we also know that the post-socialist (sports) system is different compared to, for instance, Afghanistan’s sports system. This leads to the question of whether refugees from Ukraine have different experiences of sports, and if such conditioned experiences impact their trajectory into Swedish VSCs differently compared to other refugee populations. Accordingly, the research question guiding this study was: are Swedish VSCs facing new opportunities or barriers when they attempt to include Ukrainian refugees, and what is the nature of such factors?

Seventeen Swedish VSC representatives, currently involved with receiving Ukrainian refugees into their VSC, were interviewed. The findings were theorized with Bronfenbrenner's (2005) process-person-context-time framework (PPCT). This paper proceeds as follows. A contextual background is given on the Swedish setting. Secondly, the research on refugees’ inclusion in VSCs during the last decade is scrutinized. Subsequently, the PPCT framework is accounted for, after which the methodological procedure and the participants are presented. The results are presented and discussed, and the paper finishes with some concluding remarks about the prospects of research on Ukrainian forced migration and the sports movements.

The Swedish context

Sweden has historically been known for having strong governmental welfare arrangements and social insurances, and for being a strong defender of human rights and multiculturalism, entailing inclusive migration policies (Dahlstedt & Neergaard, 2019). Migration to Sweden mainly took place after the Second World War, and a cursory review of significant events is indicative of the ethnic mosaic characterizing Sweden today. From the 1970s and onwards, Finnish migrants came to Sweden for labor purposes (Hedberg, 2004). In the 1990s, ethnic cleansing took place in the Balkans, forcing millions of Bosnians to flee; Sweden was the third largest recipient of Bosnian refugees in the European Union (Valenta & Bunar, 2010). In 2015, during the ‘refugee crisis’, Europe experienced an influx of refugees primarily from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. 168,000 refugees sought asylum in Sweden. Sweden is currently a country of approximately 10 million inhabitants, out of which around 20% are foreign-born (SCB, 2022).

Since the 1950s, the Swedish welfare state has gradually receded, and different reforms have incentivized civil society actors to carry out welfare provision. The Swedish sports movement has emerged as a strong actor with increasingly more influence and intent to address social policy goals, including the social integration of ethnic minorities. The membership base of the Swedish sports movement is impressive relative to the country’s population; over three million unique individuals are members in at least one out of 18,000 VSCs. The bureaucracy of the Swedish sports movement is complex. These VSCs are governed by the umbrella organization, the Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC), consisting of some 1000 district sports federations with regional authority over one sport, 21 regional sports federations with an administrative function connected to all sports, and 70 national sports federations, with national authority over one sport (Fahlén & Stenling, 2016). Cornerstones of the sports movement are membership-based sporting, communitarianism, democracy, and volunteerism (Mickelsson, 2022b). As for the latter, approximately half of the adult Swedish population volunteers in some way; a number that has remained consistent over three decades (Von Essen & Svedberg, 2020)

Since the SSC’s inception in 1903, the government has engaged in collaborations and funded the sports movement to achieve various social policies. These collaborations have increased in intensity during the past two decades (Österlind, 2016). Landmark projects included The Handshake between 2002 and 2006, with a funding of 100 million euro, and The Lift for Sports between 2007 and 2011, funded with 200 million euros (Fahlén & Stenling, 2016). In this arrangement, VSCs applied for funding to carry out activities following the set-out policy goals. These projects aimed to include underrepresented populations, decrease drop-out rates, and combat antisocial behavior (e.g. drug use). In conjunction with the increasing intensity of these collaborations, the sports movement has also been subject to more auditing and performance-oriented expectations on behalf of the state (Norberg, 2011). As Norberg (2011) noted, this has been problematic, because VSCs and the SSC are civil society organizations and thus have autonomy as a core characteristic. Stenling and Fahlén (2016) found that only a small fraction of VSCs are interested in social policy goals. Regardless, this autonomy has been questioned, since the SSC is adamant in pursuing more public funding and increased political and societal relevance (Stenling & Sam, 2017).

In conjunction with the ‘refugee crisis’, the sports movement was again trusted to contribute to these refugees’ integration, as approximately 26 million euro were added to the SSC’s budget between 2015 and 2018. VSCs were again funded based on their intent to address refugees’ integration. 2773 VSCs were funded (Arnoldsson et al., 2019), perhaps indicative of a quantitative shift in VSCs’ inclination towards policy implementation (cf. Stenling & Fahlén, 2016). However, as Arnoldsson et al. (2019) noted, these statistics are limited to participation, while no indicator of quality is present. As part of later developments, the Swedish sports movement started scrutinizing existing exclusive structural characteristics and has attempted to become more inclusive and to attract underrepresented populations (Arnoldsson et al., 2019). At the time of writing, approximately 50,000 Ukrainian refugees are registered in Sweden (UNHCR, 2022); however, no empirical evidence exists yet concerning their integration, however, one might wish to define integration. In this article, ‘integration’ or ‘inclusion’ is not spoken of in terms of developmental outcomes, but examined at the participation level, and the conditioners of participation.

Literature review and theoretical background

Refugees’ inclusion in sports

Significant insights have been acquired concerning refugees’ inclusion into VSCs since the ‘refugee crisis’. A challenge has been to mobilize VSCs; in a sample of 5000 VSCs, Nowy et al. (2020) found that only 14% of VSCs altered their practices to include refugees. Similarly, Fingerle et al. (2021) showed that most VSCs pay little interest in refugees’ inclusion, and that most VSCs do not intend to alter their practices. Moreover, the research on VSCs’ inclusionary efforts and results have yielded an ambivalent picture, beyond whether they are interested in refugees’ inclusion or not. Four themes stand out as particularly important. On behalf of the VSCs, these are the organizational logics and resources. On behalf of the refugees, these are the cultural capital and sporting habitus that they possess.

Drastically different results are to be found within the first. Doidge et al. (2020) explored a successful initiative, in which the VSC personnel were coherent in their vision and practices. According to Doidge et al. (2020), this coherence was key in sports delivery since it downplayed the competitive nature of sports and focused on the socializing aspect. Importantly, within Doidge et al.’s VSC, cultural diversity was embraced. However, Mickelsson (2022b) and Dowling (2020) found VSCs that were ‘othering’ and excluding refugees. This could be traced to general stereotypes of refugees as deviant (Dowling, 2020) and broken (Mickelsson, 2022b), as well as lacking cultural capital and ‘know-how’ in organized sports. Within these examples, the perspectives of refugees are rarely considered, but assimilationist discourses are evident. These discourses are reflective of broader societal trends; for example, in how politicians close gender-segregated swimming sessions for Muslim females, arguing that such initiatives facilitate ‘parallel societies’ (Lenneis & Agergaard, 2018).

Other findings have illuminated the importance of human and financial resources, with the first being particularly important (Elmose-Østerlund et al., 2022; Nowy et al., 2020). Since most European VSCs are run by volunteers, there is a need to accumulate the manpower to leverage and sustain new initiatives (Nagel et al., 2020). Volunteering is also conceived of as a terrific way to further integrate into the VSC. However, there are important variations in volunteering according to generational status, where first-generation migrants are less represented than second-generation migrants and natives (Elmose-Østerlund et al., 2021). Moreover, there is a stratification in the hierarchy of VSCs, where higher positions usually preserve a status quo, meaning that individuals with migrant backgrounds rarely reach these positions (Spaaij et al., 2020).

Moreover, downplaying the value of competitive skills seems important given other research showing how VSCs often exclude refugees according to their (lack of) sports competence (Hertting & Karlefors, 2021; Mickelsson, 2022b; Stura, 2019). These findings follow from the notion that sports’ competitive logic is inherently exclusive and will condition participation according to individuals’ sporting competence (Skille, 2011). However, some authors have also found that refugees occasionally migrate with a strong sporting habitus, enabling access to competitive VSCs. McDonald and Spaaij (2021, p. 7) argued that a certain baseline is often needed, and that, in the context of soccer ‘ … if one does not possess a football habitus, it is unlikely that one will be included … ’. When such habitus exists, however, refugees can find a sense belonging within VSCs, and competition can even serve to create and reinforce strong bonding processes (McDonald et al., 2019). As noted by Dukic et al. (2017) the existing sporting habitus is an gateway into social networks, and relationships provided by VSCs. However, such findings must also be interpreted when positioned against exclusion. For instance, Hertting and Karlefors (2021) found that VSCs rejected most migrants and included only a select few with the pre-existing sporting habitus needed to be competitive.

Another factor is refugees’ cultural capital, often concerning linguistic skills and ability to navigate society. However, there are other facets of cultural capital that can be a hindrance. In a Swedish sports context, this capital has been discussed in terms of knowledge of organized sports (Carlman et al., 2020; Hertting & Karlefors, 2021; Mickelsson, 2022a). As Hertting and Karlefors (2021) noted, there is an instant exclusionary mechanism associated with the bureaucracy of Swedish sports. In contrast to native Swedish youths, who are ‘ … acculturated into the sports system from an early age, thus learning the knowledge, norms, and cultures that harmonize with practicing sports in clubs in Sweden’ (Carlman et al., 2020, p. 44), refugees, born in other contexts, might have different experiences and knowledges of sport. In a series of studies, Ekholm and colleagues (Ekholm, 2017; Ekholm & Dahlstedt, 2018, 2019) explored how Swedish VSCs are being mobilized to carry out welfare provision, and that there is an overt emphasis on the individuals’ (migrants with low socio-economic status) responsibility to ‘fit’ the structural demands (i.e. knowing organized sports). The findings are not limited to the Swedish context, but are evident elsewhere as well (Jeanes et al., 2015).

It is here important to emphasize that the sport-and-refugee research has been conducted with populations outside of the post-socialist regions. As Agergaard and Lenneis (2021) noted, refugees come with their own experiences, preferences, and knowledge of sports and physical activity; however, these are rarely considered. We do understand that a strong sports habitus will ease refugees’ way into VSCs (Dukic et al., 2017; McDonald et al., 2019). However, there is a considerable incentive to believe that sporting habitus, and knowledge of organized sports, might differ between post-socialist refugees compared to other refugee populations. The post-socialist sports system, derived from the Soviet Union, has a considerable degree of organization and has historically valued sports in ways almost unparalleled in other nations (Riordan, 2009). Ukraine is one nation that, historically, poured the most money into its sports movement (M. Krugliak & O. Krugliak, 2020). As M. Krugliak and O. Krugliak (2020, p. 136) noted, although the grassroot movement is on the decline in Ukraine, Ukrainian sporting success may not have been possible ‘ … without the preceding Soviet legacy … ’. In short, organized sports are culturally embedded into Ukrainian society. In contemporary time, post-socialist sports experts have suggested that post-socialist migrants might integrate with more ease in Western societies’ VSCs because of their system’s emphasis on organized sports, vis-à-vis other refugee populations (Mickelsson, 2023).

In summary, research has shown that refugees’ inclusion is contingent on several factors, ranging from the refugees’ characteristics to the VSC environment. Notably, it seems to be the correspondence between refugees’ characteristics and the VSCs’ milieu that becomes decisive. Refugees’ cultural- and sporting capital are major factors for their inclusion into VSCs, often with studies citing refugees’ exclusion because of a lack of such capital(s). However, these findings have not emanated from research on post-socialist, never mind Ukrainian, refugees. The post-socialist countries, compared to other countries where forced migration has been prevalent, have had sports systems governed by the principle of organization, competition, and a ‘physical culture’, thus leading to questions about how knowledge of organized sports and potential sporting capital might play a salient role in the study’s context.

Process-person-context-time

Bronfenbrenner's (1979) initial model emphasized the contextual setting the individual was embedded in, the most important being the micro-setting. In a sports-and-refugee context, such settings involve the mutual relationships between refugees, sports coaches, and practitioners, and how important agents in the refugees’ vicinity enable positive experiences (Doidge et al., 2020). In turn, the micro-setting is embedded within grander structures, including meso-, exo-, and macro-levels; this paper is concerned with the micro and macro. Bronfenbrenner (1979) described macro-levels as societal blueprints and culture. In the paper’s context, (sub)groups are to some extent socialized into a certain pattern. For example, as previously quoted from Carlman et al. (2020), Swedish youths are socialized into conducting sports in a way that aligns with cornerstones of Swedish associational life, including volunteerism, communitarianism, and high degrees of organization. To extend this argument further, Swedish sport is but a simple reflection of grander characteristics of the ‘Nordic model’, as outlined earlier. According to such an understanding, macro-levels have tentatively shaped Ukrainian refugees’ preferences, beliefs, and ways of practicing sports, amongst other things.

Bronfenbrenner (2005) developed his model to include three individual characteristics: demand, resources, and force factors. Demand factors are demographic characteristics, such as sex, age, and ethnicity. In this sense, Bronfenbrenner (2005) argued that demand factors invite responses from the environment (e.g. discrimination in the case of ethnic minorities). Accordingly as a non-visible minority, Ukrainian refugees may not be subject to the same overt racism as are visible ethnic minorities (De Coninck, 2022). The most analytically interesting feature of the individual is the resource factors; the resources, experiences, and knowledges that a refugee brings with them. As previously described, the cultural- and sporting capital that refugees bring with them is of immense importance in their interaction with VSCs. Carlman et al.’s (2020) title ‘Let the right one in’ and their results are illustrative of how participation is conditioned by pre-existing knowledge of organized sports and sports capital. Finally, force factors are Bronfenbrenner’s equivalent to individuals’ agency. To this end, individuals choose whether they engage with their available resources or not. For example, refugees may actively disregard VSCs in favor of other activities, showcasing their autonomy (Dowling, 2020).

The key ingredient in the PPCT framework is the interaction between individuals and their milieu, the proximal process, also called the engine of the PPCT framework (Rosa & Tudge, 2013). These processes vary in content, direction, and power, and depend on the individual's characteristics in combination with the environment. In the sports-and-refugee context, the proximal process is most salient when considering the refugees’ characteristics (demographics, resources, and agency) and how this is accommodated for, or not nurtured by, the VCSs. As for the latter, one example can be used for illustrative purposes. In Dowling’s (2020) case study of Afghan youths and a Norwegian VSC, a consistent ‘othering’ procedure took place, ultimately causing the youths full exclusion. When the study is carefully read, it can be seen that several factors affect the interaction between the youths and the VSC. First, the youths are stigmatized based on racial and ethnic prejudice (demographics), and they wish to play sports that do not exist in the VSC (e.g. boxing). So, while the youths display a sense of agency in their pursuit of which sports they wish to pursue, they are excluded based on their ethnic and racial difference vis-à-vis a Norwegian native population, and their perceived lack of cultural capital (the ‘right’ sports). Looking deeper into this ‘inverse’ proximal process (Merçon-Vargas et al., 2020), the Afghan youths ultimately constructed their own football games, arguing that they ‘ … don’t need the VSC!’ (p. 1160), thus showing a growing divide between the refugees and the VSC. This is but one example of a proximal process, conditioned by refugees’ characteristics and how VSCs respond to, and understand, diversity.

Method and material

Sample and recruiting

This study adopted a qualitative approach and utilized semi-structured interviews. The primary reason for adopting a qualitative approach was that the purpose of the study, and the questions asked in it, were more aligned with an exploratory and abductive approach, rather than utilizing pre-determined questionnaires in a quantitative fashion.

When recruiting for this study, only one criterion was considered, namely whether the VSC in question was engaged with Ukrainian refugees. To reach potential VSCs, three strategies were employed. Firstly, all 21 regional SSC federations, and all 70¹ national sports federations were contacted by email. This first contact aimed to provide information on any VSC within the regional federation’s regional area, or within the national sports federation’s particular sport, that were engaged with Ukrainian refugees. All the suggested VSCs from these sources were subsequently contacted. Secondly, a thorough search on Google was done with the search terms ‘Ukraina [Ukraine]’ and/or ‘ukrainska flyktingar [Ukrainian refugees]’ in combination with various types of sports. The types of sports in the search string followed on from the existing types of sports from the national sports federations. As such, 70 different sports were searched in conjunction with key words on Ukrainian refugees. These Google searches revealed, through their websites as well as through local media, another range of VSCs across Sweden that had engaged with Ukrainian refugees. Finally, the third strategy was developed during the data collection. In an abductive fashion, sports-specific themes emerged, notably connected to (rhythmic) gymnastics. As such, all Swedish rhythmic gymnastics clubs (n = 18) were directly contacted. Through these strategies, 72 VSCs were contacted through email. Out of these 72 VSCs, 17 replied to the email. All 17 consented to their participation. The recruitment phase lasted between May and June 2022. The final sample is displayed in Table 1.

Table 1. Participant characteristics.

	Age	Sex	Sports club	Sport	Role	Refugee population
1	57	Female	Small-sized (90 members) in high-SES suburban	Karate	Volunteering coach and main coordinator	Boys, competitive
2	46	Female	Large VSC (2000 members) in urban inner-city	Multisport	Partially paid, head of integration work	sport-for-all
3	67	Male	Large VSC (400 members) in small town	Soccer	Volunteering coordinator of integration initiatives	sport-for-all
4	39	Male	Middle sized VSC (500 members) in suburban	Soccer	Volunteering head coach and main initiator of initiatives	Boys, sport-for-all
5	47	Female	Medium-sized VSC (180 members) in small town	Wrestling	Volunteering chairman	Boys, competitive level
6	45	Female	Large-sized VSC (400 members) in suburban	Gymnastics	Volunteering chairman	Girls, competitive level
7	38	Male	Medium-sized VSC (150 members) in small-town	Judo	Volunteering chairman	Girls, competitive level
8	48	Female	Large-sized VSC (2000 members) in low-SES suburban	Gymnastics	Volunteering chairman	Girls, sport-for-all
9	46	Female	Medium-sized VSC (130 members) in small town	Boxing	Volunteering chairman	Mix
10	32	Female	Small-sized VSC in small town	Multisport	Volunteering board member	Sport-for-all
11	58	Male	Large-sized VSC (∼1000 members) in small town	Boxing	Paid sport manager	Mix
12	56	Female	Small-size VSC in small town	Gymnastics	Volunteering chairman	Mix
13	41	Male	Small-size VSC in small town	Gymnastics	Volunteering board member	Sport-for-all
14	48	Female	Large-sized VSC (∼1000 members) in suburban	Gymnastics	Volunteering vice chair (but other paid positions in the VSC)	Sport-for-all
15	50	Female	Medium-sized VSC (120 members) in small town	Gymnastics	Volunteering board member	Girls, competitive
16	51	Female	Small-sized VSC (50 members) in small town	Gymnastics	Volunteering head coach	Leaders, competitive
17	29	Male	Large-sized VSC (2000 members) in inner-city	Multisport	Paid coach	Sport-for-all

The sample consisted of 11 females and 6 males, in the age span between 29 and 67. The informants held different positions, and sometimes several positions simultaneously. Their main positions were chairman (n = 7), main coach (n = 4), board member (n = 3), head of integration or integration coordinator (n = 2), and sports manager (n = 1). Three informants held paid positions, while all others had purely non-profit positions. The VSCs were also different in their structural characteristics. According to Nowy et al.’s (2020) classification on size, seven VSCs were large, five were middle-sized, and the remainder small-sized. Two were located in urban inner cities, five in a suburban area, and 10 in small-sized towns. The VSCs engaged in gymnastics (n = 7), martial arts (n = 5), multisports (n = 3), and soccer (n = 2), with the first being intentionally oversampled.

Data collection

Before data collection, an interview guide was constructed (see Appendix A). Briefly summarized, the interview guide covered three broad themes: (i) the VSC itself, structure, visions, philosophy, (ii) the current engagement with Ukrainian refugees, including the practical arrangements, purposes, definition of integration, and (iii) the VSC’s engagement with Ukrainian refugees vis-à-vis their engagement (or non-engagement) with other refugee populations. The questions started broadly, e.g. ‘Please tell me about yourself and your organization’, and then became more fine-grained inquiries into the subject matter. The questions were open-ended and semi-structured, allowing the informants to steer the direction of the conversations themselves. The open-ended nature of the questions allowed respondents to engage in various depth about specific issues. For instance, informants who had been engaged with several refugee populations provided extensive accounts of strategies, similarities, and differences between refugee groups and more, while less experienced VSC informants talked about the on-going events from a more general point of view. Moreover, the questions were formulated to connect with the PPCT framework through an emphasis on understanding the contextual settings (the VSC, visions, practices, philosophies), as well as to illuminate the characteristics of the Ukrainian refugees (as perceived by the informant). By contextualizing the VSC first, it was easier to understand the background from which representatives spoke, and how this tapped into relevant themes and potential synergies, such as refugees’ sporting capital or cultural capital in the context of highly competitive VSCs. Importantly, while inclusion in this study was conceptualized as participation, and how participation was conditioned, the representatives held different conceptions of inclusion and integration, but the main departure was access and participation to the VSC. They also spoke, sporadically, about different outcomes (e.g. physical, psychological, social). These factors are beyond the scope of this paper. For a full overview of questions, please see Appendix A.

Online interviews were conducted and recorded (n = 13) or over the phone with handwritten notes (n = 4) at the request of the participants. The interviews lasted between 40 min to 1.5 h. Ethically, the study participants were informed of the study purpose, the question of issues, confidentiality, their right to participate, and to quit whenever they wished, and of their anonymity. Participants were offered transcripts, should they wish (one participant requested this). The study was ethically approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority.

Data analysis

The data was analyzed according to a critical realist-inspired thematic analysis (Wiltshire & Ronkainen, 2021). In short, critical realism assumes an objective reality, yet mediated by conceptual filters (social, historical etc.). Critical realism also assumes a ‘stratified’ ontology, consisting of three domains: (i) the empirical, where experiences, feelings and perceptions exist; (ii) the actual, where events take place, whether they are observed or not, and (iii) the real, where underpinning but unobservable forces ‘drive’ the other domains (Wiltshire & Ronkainen, 2021). This understanding of critical realism is necessary to understand the coding procedure, as will be explained shortly.

The first transcript was inductively read, and nascent themes were noted. The remaining transcripts were deductively analyzed. In the deductive analysis, notes were made to make clear whether subsequent transcripts corroborated, rejected, or presented new themes vis-à-vis previous transcripts’ themes. The spreadsheet attached as an appendix in Wiltshire and Ronkainen (2021) was used, in which each participant had one column. Here, nascent themes were noted vertically per each participant. The next column, consisting of the subsequent participant, was then coded deductively with existing themes guiding the analysis, and new themes being noted again. This way of coding allows the analysis to both note breadth and strengths of the themes acquired. This is briefly illustrated in Appendix B.

Consistent with the stratified ontology, Wiltshire and Ronkainen proposed that themes be abstracted. For instance, theme two in Appendix B, which entails the organization internally, points to experiences of consistency and safety as critical in how the VSC is run. These experiences (from the empirical domain) were abstracted to reflect a ‘real’ force; a strong unified organizational logic. Moreover, as noted in transcript 1, this respondent runs a competitive VSC, noting how their ‘extraordinarily’ skilled refugees integrated with ease, and constituted a ‘super-match’. This quote is indicative of the synergistic effect that a high degree of sporting capital can have in settings where such is valued, i.e. a proximal process (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). Given the saliency of this theme, the focus in this paper is on the results that concerned the VSCs’ culture and logics, in conjunction with the capital that Ukrainian refugees possessed.

Results

The results section is structured according to three themes: (i) the importance of the considerable amount of sporting capital possessed by many Ukrainian refugees, (ii) the adjustment some refugees had to make to ‘fit’ with the Swedish sports landscape, and (iii) the particular challenge of a minority of the elite youths in their acclimatization to Swedish sports. These themes also illustrate a gradual move from the benefit of having a sporting capital and awareness of organized sports, to scenarios where ideas of sports (e.g. volunteerism, elite-specialization) start to cause friction, indicative of different socializing patterns between the Swedish and the Ukrainian sports spheres.

A considerable amount of sporting capital

With the ‘refugee crisis’ as reference point, researchers have illuminated how VSCs often exclude migrants because of lacking sporting skills (Hertting & Karlefors, 2021; Mickelsson, 2022b; Stura, 2019). In contrast, eight informants in this study were occupied with detailing the superb skill level of ‘their’ (youth) refugees. This had a sports-specific theme to it; VSCs that had received competitive refugees were often martial arts gyms and gymnastic clubs. In this context, it was not unusual for the representatives to talk about upcoming national championships and that the odds were in favor of some Ukrainian youths to collect medals (e.g. participants 2 and 9). Similarly, the phrase ‘national sport’ surfaced in the material both concerning martial arts (participant 11) and gymnastics (participants 6, 8, 16). Similar to what was discussed in-depth by Dukic et al. (2017) and McDonald et al. (2019), the pre-existing sports capital here is conceived of as (very) conducive to these youths’ inclusion into the VSCs in the sense that they enable access to VSCs, and even elicit admiration of their sporting skills. Accordingly, these youths’ sporting capital emerges as a strong resource factor that receives friendly responses in the youths’ surroundings.

Although all VSC representatives stated that everyone is welcome regardless of competitive level, the strong emphasis on the resourcefulness of skilled refugee youths, and the absence of attention devoted to less competitive refugees, were also indicative of the importance of sporting capital. For example, while much attention was dedicated to a skilled karate practitioner, who had already collected medals for the VSC, his brother was less successful. The representative (2) in question hastily noted that ‘ … the older brother is a bit shy, I don’t think he likes karate that much, he hasn’t the same talent […] he lost the other weekend … ’. This older brother was only peripherally spoken about, while the younger brother was praised consistently throughout the interview. In a similar vein, a boxing club had received 10 Ukrainian refugees, ranging from youths to mothers, with various degrees of sporting capital. Here, one youth became the focus of the interview, a promising talent that had already competed extensively in Ukraine and went on to win more fights in Sweden. This youth’s competitive trajectory also made him eligible for the ‘ … mundane but undoubtedly significant … ’ ways that sports contribute to social inclusion, such as traveling with the team (McDonald et al., 2019, p. 8), and being transported back and forth with the help of peers and peers’ parents. This particular Ukrainian youth had a profound effect on his environment:

[Name] did his first fight last weekend […] the whole venue was on fire […] he brought with him the Ukrainian flag to honor his [deceased] father. He fought and he was really good, there was applause going on forever […] I get chills even thinking about it. It was the first time he fought without his father. (Chairman of boxing club; 9)

The above excerpt is very emotionally loaded. The events leading up to the youth’s fight are undoubtedly forever-lasting memories of loss, despair, and pride as he entered the ring to honor his father and Ukraine. The emotional impact derived from this event was not only felt by the youth and his family but engaged all present. The scene depicted here is telling of synergistic interactions that can spur strong emotions. The youth’s boxing skills (resource factor) were needed to perform in a venue that allowed an audience. In turn, the youth’s background (demand factor), in terms of refugee status and a deceased father, strongly affected the responses given by the surroundings, in conjunction with the competitive event. These are all characteristics of a Bronfenbrennerian synergistic effect captured in a micro-moment. These environmental factors seem to magnify the effect of the ‘ … often-ignored importance of a sporting habitus and physical capital … ’ (Dukic et al., 2017, p. 101).

Cultural capital and adjusting to a new climate

Many participants also expressed how many of the refugee youths understood organized sport. Such statements were often made regarding the ‘refugee crisis’ and Syrian youths’ perceived lack of such understanding. These sentiments were prevalent, even amongst the participants that did not center on competitive sports. For example, both participants (2) and (3) noted that most of their Ukrainian refugee youths seemed to have the same awareness of playing in organized sports as the Swedish youths. Participant (2) argued that most Ukrainian refugees ‘ … have played organized in teams, as opposed to [Afghan and Syrian youths] who have played in the parks or in the streets [in their home country] … ’. Adding to this was participant (10), who argued that ‘ … there’s another [sports] tradition in Ukraine … ’, implying that organized sports seemed more common in Ukraine compared to other countries where forced migration had been prevalent. These observations seem consistent with how sports are structured in Ukraine, where organized sports are the dominant form of sporting (M. Krugliak & O. Krugliak, 2020). The post-socialist sporting system can be conceived of as an integral macro-level structure in which organized sports are a feature shared with the Swedish system. Accordingly, many of these youths have a transferable cultural capital, allowing them to integrate with ease with their knowledge of organized sports. These experiences, too, become resource factors that can be successfully implemented in the Swedish context.

However, other factors served to be critical insights for many representatives, as they had to explain to the more serious practitioners what it meant to be an amateur athlete in Sweden. One chairman (5; wrestling) explained to two Ukrainian youths that there was little profit to be made: ‘One of these guys […] he has won a junior world championship. His first question was “how much do I make as a wrestler here?”. I mean, nothing’. Moreover, when this chairman attempted to explain the importance of things outside of wrestling, she was faced with disinterest:

And his younger brother […] when we’re talking, ‘yes but you have to register so you can go to language introduction in high school’ […] because he had zero English whatsoever. There was zero interest [in what I said]. He only wanted to wrestle. But that doesn't work here. In this way, there are major differences […] their prospects disappear … 

These differences pertain to contrasts between different macro-systems. While sports-for-all, welfare, and volunteerism have been particularly strong within the Nordic sports model (Bergsgard & Norberg, 2010), post-socialist countries are more professionalized (Moustakas et al., 2022), and have a history of early specialization which leads to other expectations of one’s sporting participation (Malina, 2010). How sports systems were constructed in post-socialist regions was not always known in detail amongst the participants; however, a range of participants noted potential differences:

… people in my sports club [who had visited Russia] told me that they actually worked with judo, as a profession, their team was like … employed […] they might have head coaches who are employed by the sports club, in Russia for instance, while we have no employees […] that basically [only] exists at the federation level. (Chairman of judo club, 7)

Moreover, as another chairman of a gymnastics club (8) argued ‘ … I think it’s their lifeline, because if you are accepted into a team, then you may be eligible to get paid from the [Ukrainian] government, and then the entire family’s being might be contingent on whether this child performs well … ’. This is not to say that clear-cut cultural dichotomies exist (see Ibsen et al., 2022). However, a range of representatives understood that their sporting climate did not meet the expectations of some refugees. Picking up on the same feeling, another chairman of a gymnastic club (6) filled in that, ‘ … that was their idea in Ukraine […] but I think they understand that it doesn’t work that way here … ’. In summary, although a range of VSCs had no experience with these issues, these matters became salient concerning some sports with strong traditions in Ukraine. As Bronfenbrenner (2005) noted, macrosystem features become a permeating part of society, and, therefore, of individuals’ lives. Through institutional and day-to-day mechanisms, these features socialize and mould expectations of participation in sports, and may, at times, therefore have to be re-negotiated in a migration context.

Elite youths’ adaption to Swedish sports

Many of the representatives expressed that they either knew or believed that training in Ukraine was tougher compared to in Sweden. Mostly, these factors did not disturb their day-to-day business, but occurred as anecdotal and manageable events. One gymnastics leader noted, as a hilarious anecdote, that ‘I think they’re used to a bit tougher [practice], I mean tougher coaches, because they are like “your trainers look so happy all the time, they're so nice”’. Other illustrative examples of this occurred in the judo club where the chairman (7) noted that their youths could not keep up with the tempo when they engaged with the Ukrainian judokas, or when the chairman of a boxing club (9) had to explain to the Ukrainian refugee that he was not allowed to punch full force in his fights due to age-related regulations.

On the contrary to being posed as an issue, the chairman of a karate club was excited about her new practitioners’ grit and toughness, which was phrased as ‘ … a super-match … ’ between the refugees and the club’s approach to training. This example is telling, as it illustrates the synergistic effect of a competitive and successful sporting practitioner, and an atmosphere that is appreciative of competitive success – this is a proximal process, in which ambitions and practices align. In short, many examples existed in the material, pointing to a ‘different’ way of sporting at times; however, the differences all seemed manageable.

However, in one case of a gymnastics club, this issue had become profoundly magnified. This case stood out concerning its niche – rhythmic gymnastics. Here, 10 Ukrainian girls, all with gymnastics background, participated in the VSC. According to this chairman (6), rhythmic gymnastics is a huge enterprise in Ukraine, but relatively small in Sweden. Combined with the moderately different outlook on sports in general, this resulted in the fact that:

… they are at a completely different level earlier […] and this is the challenge we’re faced with, when we have seven, eight, nine-year-old’s who are used to training five to six days a week, and we don’t have that type of organization, and we don’t want it either … 

This had implications for their practice and was noted elsewhere too. The chairman of the judo club asserted that it was difficult for the Ukrainian refugee to train with peers of her age given the discrepancy in skills between them. This was, however, not as large an issue for the judo club as it was for the gymnastics club. This gymnastics club had to reference the UN’s Children’s Convention, and argue that they could not allow the Ukrainian parents and girls to train the way they were used to: ‘We’ve been crystal-clear that, in Sweden, and in our organization, we stand by the Children’s Convention and that we should always have the children’s best interests in mind’. According to this chairman, the Ukrainian refugees’ reaction to the above was split. They were in part grateful for their overall reception, but also frustrated and confused by the fact that they could not train the way they did in Ukraine. In elaborating upon this, the chairman (6) explained how, for instance, their youth leaders had to tackle these issues with the parents and that they generally felt unprepared to address these interactions:

… both trainers and parents have, for instance, completely different ideas about what good leadership looks like […] it’s to reach the top as quickly as possible, although I generalize now […] we could have used them [parents] as trainers, but then we end up in the situation where our leadership cultures are too different … 

As this chairman (6) invoked discourses about the Children’s Convention, and the pressure on youth leaders to navigate, it is evident that, again, the sporting climate within this VSC seemed at odds with the Ukrainian refugees’ ambitions and traditions. Here, the initial value of strong sports- and cultural capital was gradually overshadowed by conflicting cultural ideas of youth sports, showing how sporting capital is not deterministically ‘good’ in all contexts. Finally, the chairman (6) noted that these events made her aware of not losing sight of the VSC’s values, since it could easily become tempting to pursue the ambitions of these Ukrainian practitioners. A range of representatives from gymnastics clubs (13, 15, 16) explicitly warned that gymnastics is a sport already tormented by scandals and inappropriate training methods that are misaligned with the Children’s Convention, and that the influx of skilled gymnasts from Ukraine was a resource, but also a challenge. One coach (16) had already experienced these issues with a visiting Belarusian coach, and was adamant that such practice could not occur again within her VSC: ‘ … I mean, there were comments on bodies […] and … I won’t say hitting but definitely too rough … ’. The process of allowing a Ukrainian refugee leader in was not unconditional but rather the opposite; she went through two test trainings and partook in extensive conversations about Swedish sports.

In summary, while decent sporting capital can provide a foothold into competitive VSCs, other factors may condition how sporting capital is looked upon. In the focus of this section, culturally contingent ideas of sports, ambition, and leadership took shape through practices that are misaligned with Swedish (federation’s) interpretations of the Children’s Convention.

Discussion

This study has reported on what are probably some of the first findings concerning Ukrainian refugees’ inclusion into Western VSCs. Starting in an exploratory fashion, seeking to understand what is ‘new’ in the midst of these events, this paper revisits ideas about sports’ competitive logic and in particular the importance of refugees’ sporting capital (Dukic et al., 2017) and how VSCs react to such capital. Here, the findings will be briefly situated into the existing body of literature to properly understand the unique situation of Ukrainian refugees’ inclusion into Western sports clubs by focusing on sporting capital and VSCs’ strategies for accommodating Ukrainian refugees.

Studies of refugees in European VSCs have generally warned of concerns about overly-competitive VSCs’ exclusion of refugees, when refugees do not have strong sporting- or cultural capital (Hertting & Karlefors, 2021; Mickelsson, 2022b; Stura, 2019; Tuchel et al., 2021). Within these studies, key themes have often been to downplay competitiveness, and instead emphasize social aspects of the VSCs’ milieu (Anderson et al., 2019; Doidge et al., 2020). In the Swedish context, efforts are made to ‘educate’ ethnic minorities about organized sports since this is conceived as being problematic barriers (Lindström & Mickelsson, 2022). These strategies are often used by VSCs to be inclusive regardless of skill level and knowledge of organized sports. An interesting finding here is then that no VSC representative cited either inexperience of organized sports or poor skill level as an ‘issue’ for Ukrainian refugees’ inclusion.

Simultaneously, previous literature has also suggested that refugees’ decent sporting capital is a good entry into VSCs (Dukic et al., 2017; McDonald et al., 2019). The current study results agree with these studies – Ukrainian refugees’ sporting capital was consistently spoken of as being welcome, and often spoken of with admiration, such as in the context of national championships, or how the refugees outperformed their Swedish peers. The level of the sporting capital thus seemed very high, even though the study never intentionally attempted to reach elite athletes. While these findings need further exploring, Ukrainian refugees come from different political, social, and cultural contextual circumstances compared to, e.g. Afghan and Syrian youths. These circumstances are part of a Ukrainian sports system and might be reflected in the sporting capital – and knowledge of organized sports displayed by youths in this study. As argued elsewhere, these similarities between post-socialist and Western sports systems might be conducive to Ukrainian refugees’ inclusion (Mickelsson, 2023). As indicated here, many VSC representatives believed it was ‘easier’ to include Ukrainian refugees compared to other refugee populations. However, there is also a risk in emphasizing differences between refugee groups, since it may cause divisions, and differentiated treatment from the receiving societies (De Coninck, 2022).

Adding to the literature on refugees’ sporting capital (Dukic et al., 2017; McDonald et al., 2019), this paper also highlights a potential residual of the post-socialist tradition of early specialization that can impinge on Ukrainian refugees’ inclusion in Western VSCs. While research has unequivocally shown the benefits of sporting capital for refugees’ inclusion, this study shows that there is a limit to this conduciveness. This limitation is based on what is conceived of as appropriate in youth sports and highlights salient divides on the subject matter. For instance, in Sweden, where the UN’s Convention of the Children’s Rights has been ratified and taken into consideration by the Swedish sports movement (Eliasson, 2017), VSCs need to be cognizant of how hard they push youths in practice. As suggested by some informants in this study, this convention may not be reflected in the reality of all Ukrainian youths.

Finally, one pertinent question relates to how well the current results transfer to other contexts. This study has taken Sweden as an illustrative case; however, the Swedish sports movement generally shares many features with other European sports movements, including the emphasis on sports clubs as part of civil society (Nagel et al., 2020). VSCs across Europe are usually run by volunteers, often lacking formal credentials to handle social issues (Tuchel et al., 2021). A key take-away from this shared denominator of many European sports movements is that the sports federations will play a key part in navigating complex issues that can affect VSCs’ reception of Ukrainian refugees. Both Swedish (Mickelsson, 2022c) and other European sports movements (De Bock et al., 2021) are conceived of as driving forces behind the implementation of social policies, and they have a significant task in supporting VSCs when they encounter complex social issues, such as those mentioned here. However, these factors are also contextually bound; in Sweden, funding and influence has increased remarkably to combat social issues, situating the SSC as a dominant player in these situations. Such distinctive hegemony may not be the reality in all European countries.

Concluding remarks

The main finding from this study is that a subsection of Ukrainian refugees enter other countries’ sports spheres with a considerable amount of sporting capital along with a post-socialist tradition of practicing sports. As shown here, many VSCs naturally conceive of this as a resource, which also enables these youths’ inclusion. However, there are also extreme cases which warrant caution. The study results raise several questions pertinent to European VSCs, specifically how they will adjust to Ukrainian refugees’ needs, and how different conventions and notions about youth sports will be negotiated.

Some suggestions for further research are provided here based on the current study limitations. First, it needs to be emphasized that the results need to be interpreted with caution based on study design, and the novelty of forced migration from Ukraine. In this study, a heterogenous sample was also recruited; while there are advantages to this approach, it also limits the analysis. Sport is a broad collective term, dependent on what is exercised, how it is exercised, and who the practitioner is, amongst other things. Another approach would have been to explore gymnastics exclusively in the current context to achieve more depth.

Relatedly, the current study only managed to get a snapshot, and from the perspectives of VSC representatives. There is, of course, a need to engage with Ukrainian refugees themselves, and use longitudinal designs. Specifically, representatives sporadically spoke about Ukrainian refugees as ‘culture-bound’ (Carlman et al., 2020) and about refugees’ sporting practices as deterministically shaped by post-socialist traditions. As suggested by Agergaard and Lenneis (2021), refugees engage in negotiations between their different (national) belongings, which can impact ways of thinking and doing sports. Such negotiations were not captured here and are best explored longitudinally.

Secondly, there is a need to understand how Swedish (and European) sports movements are adjusting to the unique characteristics of Ukrainian refugees. Regarding the ‘refugee crisis’, the Swedish sports movement embarked on what is at least intended to be a transformative journey, aiming to become more inclusive (Arnoldsson et al., 2019). Such transformation has been structural, and often rooted in how they can accommodate individuals with diverse, and often little, knowledge of organized sports (Lindström & Mickelsson, 2022). However, Ukrainian refugees tentatively enter from another vantage point, and sometimes with considerable amounts of such knowledge accompanied by strong sporting capital. Regarding the most extreme case in this material, it remains to be seen how the sports movement will handle conflicting ideas of early youth sports specialization vis-à-vis the established notions of the UN’s Children Conventions. Such matters need further empirical exploration.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank all the participants involved, as well as for the reviewers who helped in raising the quality of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Two mail addresses malfunctioned. Accordingly, 68 national sports federations received the email.