Belfast United: Encouraging Cross-Community Relations through Sport in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Northern Ireland is a society which has a long history of community division. It is often claimed that sport has the capacity to serve as a medium for reconciliation between rival factions. Evidence suggests to the contrary that, in its native cultural setting, sport can reflect and even exaggerate existing divisions and this tends to be the case in Northern Ireland. Belfast United is a sport based community relations programme which carefully and deliberately manipulates the conditions under which sport is played in an attempt to promote better understanding between selected groups of young Protestants and Catholics living in Belfast. The highlight of the programme involves a residential experience and playing tour in the United States. Detailed evaluations reveal that, in the short term, exercises such as this can have a significant impression on the attitudes of the participants towards those affiliated with different religious traditions. The long term impact of Belfast United is almost impossible to gauge. The paper concludes by offering a series of principles which, after further research, may be adapted as a basis for good practice in the area of sport and community relations.