Community Sport Needs More Ethnic Leaders

Report finds racism and discrimination alive on and off the sports field

The Asian community is being left on the side lines when it comes to getting involved in leadership roles in community sports organisations.

A West Auckland study undertaken by Sport Waitākere and funded by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities looked at diversity and inclusion in community sports and the report, ‘The Barriers to Asian Participation in Formal Leadership within Community Sport - A Developing Ethnic Leaders Insight Study’ found there are barriers to Asian migrants becoming leaders and influencers within their chosen sports code.

Javeed Ali, Sport Waitākere’s Community Sport and Recreation Team Lead and report co-author, says the project aims to support the development of Asian members to become more knowledgeable, competent and confident to participate in formal leadership roles within community sports organisations.

“Being part of a sports club and involved in the governance of sports organisations is a great way to adapt and integrate into New Zealand society,” says Ali. “It can help with establishing social networks, language improvement and foster respect and understanding in a new country, yet there are barriers to the transition from participants or supporters of sports to being leaders and influencers within a club.”

Lack of free time was one of the biggest barriers to getting Asian immigrants involved in sports clubs with over 90% of respondents saying that it took around three years to settle in and get their affairs in order as well as many of them prioritising running a small business.

Culture shock and language barriers featured strongly. In many cases New Zealand’s sports codes’ systems are completely different to those in migrants’ home countries and a limited understanding of English affected their confidence levels in participating in club sports.

Racism and discrimination is alive and well on and off the sports field with respondents reporting they had experienced racism in their club due to the colour of their skin. They felt they were treated differently and often ignored but did not want to speak up as it may mean their child would be excluded from competitions.

Some participants interviewed as part of the study suggested that it was ‘jobs for the boys’ and boards and committees were dominated by a regular group of people with very limited opportunities for new people to join. Many of these roles are held by middle-aged Pakeha men.

Of the eight clubs analysed, Europeans made up approximately 50% of the membership yet accounted for over 80% of those who held formal leadership roles. Whereas Asian communities made up almost 25% of the membership, but only 10% of formal leaders had an Asian background. Whilst this is a small sample, this over-representation can lead to making members feel excluded as their needs may not be met.

Javeed Ali says some of these findings are disturbing but all can be rectified if there is a stronger level of awareness and understanding.

“Being told you don’t speak English, don’t know people and are not Kiwi is a pretty harsh introduction to New Zealand,” says Ali. “We need to put systems in place that will deliver leadership and governance training and education around the New Zealand sports system so newcomers can understand how we do it here.

“Mentoring is another important tool to help onboard ethnic people into formal leadership roles,” says Ali. “Based on these findings, Sport Waitākere will be running a governance training programme specifically for ethnic communities in the coming months.

“Sport and recreation provide a shortcut for social integration and we should be welcoming our ethnic communities who bring so much value to the field, the governance table and the social make up of sports clubs,” continued Ali.

The Asian population is growing significantly and is the third largest ethnic group in New Zealand, following European/Pakeha and Māori. Asian people account for 15% of the population nationally, 28% of the population in Auckland and 29% of the population of West Auckland.

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