Promoting physical activity participation: the importance of place-belonging within inclusive community sports clubs

In recent years, significant government investment and policy intent have focused attention on increasing participation in sport and physical activity. Sports clubs have habitually been identified as a space to facilitate such participation and provide a ‘solution’ to meet multiple ‘cross-cutting’ government agendas. However, sports clubs have also been criticised for displaying organisational processes and practices that often contribute to the exclusion, marginalisation and non-participation of some community groups. Consequently, there is a need to challenge assumptions about the role of sports clubs as inclusive places to facilitate increased physical activity. To support inclusivity, the concept of place-belonging has been noted as being critical within the process of enabling prolonged participation in sport and physical activity, yet little is known about how sports clubs might facilitate place-belonging. Drawing upon interview data obtained from a total of 82 participants, across three metropolitan areas of the United Kingdom, this paper seeks to examine how a heightened sense of belonging to a sports club supports deeper engagement in physical activity. Providing empirical insights, the paper highlights the importance of place-belonging to initiate and sustain participation in physical activity and provides some practical insights as to how sports club personnel may facilitate it.