RESEARCH ON SPORTS AND LEISURE ACTIVITY EXPERIENCES OF IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES IN MONTREAL, CANADA

30th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science, Rimini, İtalya, 1 - 04 Temmuz 2025, ss.476-477, (Özet Bildiri)

NTRODUCTION: Turkey currently hosts over 3.7 million refugees, making it one of the countries with the highest number of

refugees globally [1] .It was argued that migration is a social phenomenon that has significant effects on the social struc-

tures, economies, and cultures of nations, causing major changes in society [2] Recent research indicates that participa-

tion in sports activities positively impacts the integration and peaceful coexistence of migrants and refugees in their newly

resettled countries [3]. Canada has been accepting immigrants for many years and has implemented sports and recrea-

tion programs to aid in the integration of refugees and immigrants into society. Therefore, we aim to investigate individu-

als participating in leisure and sport activities could provide insight into their effectiveness in addressing the problems

caused by Turkeys large migration flow.

METHODS: 16 refugees/immigrants living in Montreal from various countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belarus,

Denmark, Ghana, Iran, India, Mexico, Nigeria, Syria, and United States of America took part in semi-structured interviews.

All participants were older than 18 years old and participating different sports and leisure activities in Montreal. Thematic

analysis was used for data analysis.

RESULTS: The findings showed that there were three main themes: Lack of Time and Money to Attend Leisure and Sport

Activities in Montreal, including the themes, paperwork for permanent residency, settling down, job search, cold weather.

Feelings of Marginalization by Newcomers, including the themes, not feeling welcomed generally by locals, feeling more

comfortable around racialized people, language barrier makes it difficult to communicate. Merging the French Courses

with Leisure and Sports Activities.

CONCLUSION: The study reveals key challenges newcomers in Montreal face in leisure and sports, mainly due to time,

financial constraints, and harsh winters. They feel unwelcome and alienated, often finding support within racialized com-

munities due to language barriers. A solution could be combining language courses with leisure activities for better social

interaction. Adapting this model in Turkey might involve incorporating cultural activities to create inclusive environments,

easing newcomers social and economic burdens and aiding their integration.

References

1. UN (2023) 2. Akkayan (1979) 3. Agergaard (2018)

Note: This research study has been reviewed by the McGill University Research Ethics Board [REB protocol number 24-03-

076] and is funded by Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey