Browsing by Subject "maahanmuuttajanuori"

The aim of this study is to find out through a case study what role football plays in the lives and acculturation processes of immigrant youth in Helsinki. The second aim is to investigate what factors influence the most to the youth's starting point of football and its' continuity. The concepts of acculturation and integration I will observe mainly based on the previous acculturation theories. I will study the influence of football as a tool into the acculturation processes through earlier studies about sport clubs and sports. Based on my own experience and bachelor thesis, my hypothesis is that football can help immigrant youth to acculturate into the new homeland due to football's transcultural and translinguistic nature. In my case study I interviewed two pair of immigrant brothers who play football. I knew both brothers before the study. I collected the data using focused interviews. I analysed the data using content analysis and actant analysis that is one form of narrative analysis. According to the results of my study, football clearly helped the brothers in their acculturation processes into Finland and Helsinki. The most football helped them to expand their social networks that helped them to get to know Finnish families and customs. They did not learn Finnish much through football, which was surprising and differed from the earlier studies. They learnt Finnish better with friends and in school. Success in football helped to improve their feeling of competence and self-esteem, especially according to the older pair of brothers. The younger pair of brothers felt extra pressure and stress to do well in football, because they were worried about their mom wasting her money into their hobby. The factors that influenced the most to the starting point and continuity of football were the economic and mental support of the family, the coach's and the team's support and flexibility for the immigrant family in the monthly costs, experienced success, and the approval of the team mates. The positive effects of football on acculturation cannot be taken for granted or automatically considered to be accomplished. It needs successful events and positive encounters. After bad experiences on and off the field, football might also create extra stress and pressure to the youth that might slow down and compromise the whole acculturation process.