Newswise — Sports provide a gateway for individuals seeking to establish connections with others. Engaging in sports offers an avenue for integration and interaction, allowing individuals to connect with others on an equal level. For immigrants, sports can serve as a vital key to fitting into a new society.
However, a question arises: how accessible is it for individuals with unique or unfamiliar names to participate in these activities? The answer varies based on the distinctiveness of a person's name and, to some extent, their geographical location. It is worth noting that the outcomes of an experiment conducted in Scandinavia exhibited regional disparities, as some countries showed greater similarities than others.
Notably, the rigged football experiment yielded encouraging results for Norway and Denmark, while the findings were less favorable for Sweden.
Fictional football girls applied for tryouts
During the experiment, a group of researchers assumed the identities of girls who were interested in joining football clubs in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. Tor Georg Jakobsen, a professor of political science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Business School, explained that they reached out to every division-based women's club with amateur teams in Scandinavia, excluding the top level.
The researchers sent out a total of 1141 emails to club contact persons, comprising 665 clubs in Sweden, 259 in Norway, and 207 in Denmark. Although the content of the emails was identical, the researchers varied them by using different signatures—some with traditional native names and others with random names belonging to the three largest measurable minority groups in each country.
Subsequently, the researchers examined and compared the responses, or lack thereof, they received, noting any disparities based on the type of name used by the fictional girls.
What we say and what we do
According to Jakobsen, Sweden stands out as the most intriguing country in terms of the experiment's results, with more distinct patterns of discrimination compared to Norway and Denmark. In Sweden, the findings were more pronounced, indicating a clear trend.
The response rates varied based on the cultural distance between the names used. Native Swedish names received a positive response rate of approximately 77%, Finnish names around 73%, Polish names 65%, and Iraqi names 62%. This correspondence to cultural differences highlights how varying cultures are perceived.
While the disparity between Swedish and Finnish names was not significant, it was noteworthy for Polish and Iraqi names, as explained by Jakobsen.
Conversely, the researchers did not observe such distinct tendencies in either Norway or Denmark. In Norway, Polish and Lithuanian names received slightly fewer responses than Norwegian names, but the difference was not statistically significant. Somali names, on the other hand, elicited nearly identical responses to Norwegian names.
In Denmark, there were somewhat fewer responses to Polish, Syrian, and Turkish names compared to Danish names, but once again, the difference was not statistically significant. It should be mentioned that German names were not included in the Danish data, despite Germans being the second-largest immigrant group, as they were excluded due to their similarity to Danish names.
What Swedes say, and what Swedes do
Jakobsen points out an intriguing paradox regarding Sweden's higher scores in surveys measuring trust towards individuals of other nationalities, compared to Denmark and Norway. While people in Norway and Denmark may display a slightly higher level of skepticism towards foreigners when directly questioned, there seems to be a disparity between theory and practice.
However, it is important not to dwell too long on Sweden's double standards, as it may not be entirely fair to single them out. Jakobsen emphasizes that it is crucial to consider the fact that Sweden has a significantly larger number of football clubs than Denmark and Norway.
With an increasing number of clubs, the likelihood of coincidences influencing the results diminishes. For instance, in Norway and Denmark, it only takes a few desperate coaches to sway the numbers. When there is a pressing need to fill team positions, even the most skeptical coach may be inclined to respond positively to allowing someone with a foreign-sounding name to try out.
Foreign-sounding names might evoke a sense of exoticism for some, or they may be associated with specific football traditions and corresponding skill sets, making it more exciting to grant them opportunities.
Furthermore, Sweden has a higher proportion of immigrants and children of immigrants compared to Norway and Denmark. In Sweden, this proportion stands at 20%, while it is 14% in Norway and 12% in Denmark.
Easier for girls?
Previous experiments have indicated that boys with foreign-sounding names face a lower likelihood of being able to try out for football teams. However, the response to girls with foreign-sounding names is not as straightforward.
Scandinavian countries are considered ideal for conducting this type of research, as they have a sufficient number of women's teams for empirical analysis, unlike many other European countries. Cornel Nesseler, affiliated with the NTNU Business School and an associate professor at the University of Stavanger, has previously conducted similar studies focusing on male players.
Interestingly, in these experiments, girls with foreign-sounding names received responses more frequently, including positive answers, compared to boys in previous experiments. This suggests that, on average, football contacts tend to be more positive towards girls than boys. However, the experiments themselves differ significantly, making it challenging to draw definitive conclusions.
Nesseler suggests that the higher demand for female players could potentially influence the response rate observed in the experiments.
The research group involved in this study consisted of Jakobsen, Nesseler, Marthe Holum from the Department of Computer Science at NTNU, Rasmus K. Storm from Idrættens Analyseinstitut (Sports Analysis Institute) and the NTNU Business School, along with Andreas Nygaard from Idrættens Analyseinstitut.
Reference: Storm, K. Rasmus, Cornel Nesseler, Marthe Holum, Andreas Nygaard & Tor G. Jakobsen (2023) “Ethnic Discrimination in Scandinavia: Evidence from a Field Experiment in Women’s Amateur Soccer” in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications.
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