Chapter 2. Ethnic participation in Dutch amateur football clubs 35 primary explanation for differences in sport participation between ethnic groups as was formulated as the first expectation in this chapter. In general, educational and income levels have risen for ethnic minority groups over the years, and between first and second generations. Additionally, important forms of cultural capital such as educational level and language proficiency have improved substantially for vulnerable groups, like Turkish and Moroccan citizens. While differences in economic and cultural resources do not seem to align with differences in amateur football participation between groups, we might still witness an increase in the representation of minority groups over time due to the fact that an additional share of these groups will be enabled to join amateur football clubs. Table 2.5 only provides very limited evidence for this idea. While we do see greater increases in participation rates for many minority groups compared to ethnically Dutch citizens or citizens with a Northern, Western, Southern European, or Anglo-Saxon background, these differences are quite small. Moreover, while the representation of Moroccan citizens in amateur football rises substantially over time, the representation of Turkish citizens actually declines within the same timeframe, despite the improvement in the average position of both groups. Different trends in the age distribution within these groups are better able to account for much of the change over time. Between 2005 and 2015, the number of Moroccan Dutch citizens aged between 0 and 25 has risen by roughly 10,000, while the number of Turkish Dutch citizens within the same age group has declined by almost 16,000 (Statistics Netherlands, n.d.). Because participation in amateur football is highly skewed towards young individuals, these demographic developments are likely to have a substantial impact on representation. Ageing also aligns with the slightly dwindling participation of Surinamese citizens, and the low and declining number of members with an Indonesian background. For this latter group this has to do with the fact that many young people with an Indonesian background belong to the third generation and are therefore classified as ethnically Dutch in government statistics. The main exception to the story outlined above, are citizens with a Middle or Eastern European background. As can be seen in Tables 3 and 4, the number and share of this group within the total Dutch population has increased significantly between 2005 and 2014. While the number of members with a Middle or Eastern European background of amateur football clubs also has risen within these years, this growth is strongly outpaced by the growth in the total
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