98 Ethnic sorting in football be determined more closely. This could have led to an overestimation of the relative ingroup size of dropouts and the outgroup fractionalization of the remaining members. It is, however, unlikely that this would have significantly affected the outcomes of this study. In fact, it could imply that the effects of ingroup size and outgroup fractionalization on dropout are slightly underestimated. Finally, while the preference to meet and bond with similar others appears to be universal across groups, it has also become clear how much group sizes matters for one’s ability to do so. Indeed, a tragic result of people’s preference for homogeneity in quasi-monoethnic countries such as the Netherlands is that not only amateur football clubs but (civic) organizations in general are prone to provide more meaningful and integrating contact experiences for the majority group, and minorities can do little about this. In those few instances where minority groups do succeed to create relatively homogeneous group settings for themselves, they are unlike their majority counterparts, also likely to be met with scepticism. Furthermore, these outcomes should also temper a culturalist perspective on ethnic disparities in levels of participation and involvement. While it might be tempting to provide cultural explanations for strong ethnic differences in membership and dropout, this study shows that ingroup size and other specific circumstances offer much stronger explanations. In Dutch public opinion, it is often argued that lower involvement rates and high dropout figures for immigrants are explained by their lack of a culture of civic membership. However, when controlling for individual characteristics and club characteristics, the ethnic composition of clubs and specifically one’s relative ingroup size can fully account for any remaining difference in dropout - even to the extent that members with a Dutch background are slightly more prone to drop out when they are in a minority position.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjY0ODMw