Social Capital and Soccer: Adult Soccer Leagues as Arenas for Immigrant Incorporation
Open AccessThis thesis examines adult soccer leagues in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area and determines the level of social capital that exists in the social networks that form through participation in these diverse groups. Given soccer’s global appeal, the communities that form around soccer are distinctly international, and include native-born players, as well as newer, foreign-born community members. Crucially, the communities that form can be spatially dispersed throughout a diverse metropolitan area, and can rely on online platforms to organize regular meeting times and places. The soccer fields themselves are important meeting places for these dispersed communities. Thus, local soccer fields, and the networks that form within them, can be a powerful resource for migrant incorporation in immigrant gateway cities like Washington D.C. In this case study, 623 soccer players in five different leagues, completed on-line surveys. League types ranged from social sports leagues, to more competitive leagues, in addition to a survey of the pick-up soccer community. Three focus groups were also conducted with players who played in DC’s largest social sports league and players from the pick-up soccer community. Results suggest that not only are the soccer leagues ethnically diverse, but that the communities have a high level of localized trust and reciprocity. Indeed, survey results showed that participants gained new social connections, and that members’ professional lives were positively influenced by their participation.
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