Creating Safe Communities for All: The Role of Sport and Antiracism in Northern Ireland

This project is funded by:

• Department for the Economy (DfE)

Northern Ireland has a complex history of community tensions. While overt sectarian conflict has declined, recent years have seen a sharp rise in racial and ethnic tensions, particularly among young people (McVeigh, 2015; Doebler et al., 2018).

Between June 2024 and June 2025, the PSNI recorded the highest number of racist incidents and race hate crimes since records began in 2004, with 2,049 incidents and 1,329 crimes (PSNI, 2025).

These developments highlight the need for new and creative approaches to community safety and cohesion in a society still shaped by its conflict legacy.

Sport, as a widely accessible and culturally significant practice, offers one such arena. It is often promoted as a tool for education, inclusion, and crime prevention (Spaaij, 2013; UNICEF, 2019).

Yet its outcomes are not automatic: meaningful impact depends on programme design, social context, and active engagement from participants (Coalter, 2007; Morgan and Parker, 2023).

This PhD project will investigate how grassroots sport is currently used – and how it can be mobilised – to address racism and strengthen intercultural understanding in Northern Ireland.

The researcher will explore how sport can foster dialogue between the two historical communities while also including those groups most vulnerable to rising racial tensions. A critical lens will also be applied to examine the limitations and contradictions of sport-for-development initiatives.

Potential key research questions may include:

• What role do antiracism initiatives and intercultural exchange play within Northern Ireland’s sport-for-development sector?
• How is sport mobilised to foster intercultural understanding between the majority White population and ethnic minority communities?
• In what ways does participation in sport influence feelings of safety and belonging among ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland?

Applicants will be encouraged to use collaborative and creative qualitative methods, such as participatory action research, photovoice, walking interviews, and mapping (Fals-Borda, 1987; Wang and Burris, 1997; Spaaij et al., 2018; Frisina, 2022).

This project will particularly suit candidates with interests in sport and society, community relations, migration and belonging, or critical criminology.

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

The University is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applicants from all sections of the community, particularly from those with disabilities.

Appointment will be made on merit.

This project is funded by:

• Department for the Economy (DfE)

Our fully funded PhD scholarships will cover tuition fees and provide a maintenance allowance of £21,000 (approximately) per annum for three years* (subject to satisfactory academic performance).  A Research Training Support Grant (RTSG) of £900 per annum is also available.

These scholarships, funded via the Department for the Economy (DfE), are open to applicants worldwide, regardless of residency or domicile.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

*Part time PhD scholarships may be available to home candidates, based on 0.5 of the full time rate, and will require a six year registration period.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies .

Recommended reading

• Coalter, F. (2007) Sport a wider social role: who’s keeping the score? London: Routledge.
• Doebler, S. McAreavey, R. and Shortall, S. (2018) Is racism the new sectarianism? Negativity towards immigrants and ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland from 2004 to 2015. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 41(14), 2426–2444.
• Fals-Borda, O. (1987) The Application of Participatory Action-Research in Latin America. International Sociology, 2(4), 329–347.
• Frisina, A. (2016) Metodi visuali di ricerca sociale. Milano: Il Mulino.
• Giulianotti, R. (2004) Human rights, globalization and sentimental education: The case of sport. Sport in Society, 7: 355-369.
• McVeigh, R, (2025) Living the peace process in reverse: racist violence and British nationalism in Northern Ireland. Race & Class, 56(4), 3–25.
• Morgan, H., and Parker, A. (2023) Sport-fordevelopment, critical pedagogy and marginalised youth: engagement, co-creation and community consciousness. Sport, Education and Society, 28(7): 741-754.
• PSNI (2025) Incidents and crimes with a hate motivation recorded by the Police in Northern Ireland: update to 30th June 2025. Belfast: PSNI Statistics Branch.
• Richardson, D. B. (2013) Real-Time Space–Time integration in GIScience and Geography. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 103 (5), 1062–71
• Spaaij, R. (2013) Changing people’s lives for the better? Social mobility through sport-based intervention programmes: Opportunities and constraints. European Journal for Sport and Society, 10(1), 53–73.
• Spaaij, R., Schulenkorf, N., Jeanes, R, and Oxford, S. (2018) Participatory research in sport-for-development: complexities, experiences and (missed) opportunities. Sport Management Review, 21(1), 25-37.
• UNICEF (2019). Getting into the Game: understanding the evidence for child focused sport for development. Florence: UNICEF.
• Wang C and Burris MA (1997) Photovoice: concept, methodology, and use for participatory needs assessment. Health Education & Behavior, 24(3), 369–387.