Chapter 6. Ethnicity matters 131 A local policy issue Consequently, the relationship between ethnic background and sports club membership manifests itself first and foremost as a local issue. Sports and social policy makers would therefore do well to start with carefully evaluating to what extent local sports clubs align or misalign with the backgrounds of their residents. A primary cause for concern is high degrees of underrepresentation. Under these circumstances, selective member recruitment and retention can create a vicious cycle that could keep club membership and its associated benefits mostly out of reach for certain minority groups. Policy makers may wish to address underrepresentation by stimulating homogeneous clubs to ethnically diversify. It is, however, important that they recognize that this means that a club must go against the current instead of with it. Rather than relying on informal tieformation, they will have to actively branch out and invest heavily in both the recruitment and retainment of members of different ethnic backgrounds. Furthermore, it is not unlikely that returns on these investments are limited, especially in the beginning and in cases of strong underrepresentation. It this thus vital to think realistically about if and which clubs are both willing and able to incorporate minority groups effectively. Clubs that are located in the same area and/or already have members with underrepresented backgrounds will have more potential than those that don’t. Regardless of circumstances, however, given that sport clubs are mutual support organizations, run by volunteers, it is likely that they will need but also deserve professional and long-term assistance to reach and maintain such goals. Furthermore, in those rare occasions that homogeneous minority clubs do exist, we should appreciate the fact that they can play an important role in the inclusion of citizens with migrant backgrounds into organized sports. While policy makers must always consider an efficient and effective allocation of public money, in certain situations the most economical way forward could be to assist in the establishment of a new minority club. A key consideration for policy makers then, is that addressing the underrepresentation of minority groups and making organized sports more accessible and inclusive does not imply that all sports clubs need to ethnically diversify. Ethnic difference can also be organized between clubs instead of within them, which may ultimately serve the interests of minorities more effectively.
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