Personal insights on Sport and Inclusion in Slovenia: a journalistic SWOT analysis

The Republic of Slovenia was created in 1991, after the dissolution of the Yugoslav Federation. The country is situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Region, the Alps, the Pannonian Plain, and the Balkan Peninsula. In the past, the territory was part of different entities and dominations. Today it has land borders with Austria, Italy and Hungary, the surface is about 20.000 square kilometers, the inhabitants are about 2 millions, the main religious group is Christian catholic, the main language is Slovenian, with two bilingual zones recognised by the Constitutions, in relation with the presence of two ethnic minorities: Italian-Slovenian in the West, Hungarian-Slovenian in the East.. The highest point is Triglav (about 2.800 m above sea level), the coastline is about 46 km. The capital is Ljubljana, the other main cities are Maribor and Celje, while Koper is the main seaport. The Republic of Slovenia is a member of the European Union, Council of Europe, United Nations, NATO and all the major international organisations. The currency is the Euro.

Most people have Slovenian nationality, most foreigners are coming from the former Yugoslavia: in the last months, there has been a clear increase of people migrating from Ukraine. and that during the Yugoslavian era, many people relocated in Slovenia from the other Republics of the Federation. It is also worth mentioning that when Slovenia gained independence, about 25000 people with non-Slovenian origins did not apply to get citizenship, therefore were erased from the registry of permanent residents: in practice, they became stateless. This process had many implications for many dedicated people, above all in terms of social cohesion and justice. Many times, exclusion processes could start from superficial elements, including clothing, appearance, pronunciation/use of specific slangs, non-Slovenian surnames or residence in given blocks.

Traditionally, the country has a high percentage of people engaged in regular sports activities and sports, both in winter and summer disciplines. In many cases, sports environment was a theatre of social inclusion processes as well as a trampoline for the development of many talented athletes: among the Slovenian well-known at a global level, there are also world-wide known champions, as the basketball player Luka Dončič, the cyclists Tadej Pogačar and Primož Roglič, the footballers Jan Oblak and Benjamin Šeško, the climber Janja Garnbret and many others. Looking at the past, we can also mention the skier Tina Maze and the footballers Srečko Katanec, Zlatko Zahović and Damir Handanović. In many cases, these champions have non-Slovenian origins.The current article is based on research produced within “Sport Trainers Squared”, a project supported by the Erasmus+ Sport program of the EU Commission related to sport and social inclusion (more details on www.sts-project.eu). The analysis will be based on a SWOT analysis, it is a journalistic investigation based on data analysis, reports, articles, journalistic reportages, personal experiences and interviews.

Table of contents:

Strenghts
Weakness
Opportunities
Treats
Conclusions
Thinking points
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Strenghts

The country has both a multicultural nature (besides being a meeting point of different linguistic groups, it has been experiencing many migration flows for many decades) and consolidated sport traditions in many fields. This means that many integration models based on sport have been naturally developed.

Moreover, many athletes, coaches and sport leaders have non-Slovenian origin: they can be considered as role models, agents for inclusion and anti-discrimination. Cooperation among people with different backgrounds in sport has been consolidated for many years, both at the elite and grassroots levels. For all these reasons, sport can therefore be considered a tool of inclusion.

Weakness

The new migration flows coming from Ukraine are very specific and peculiar: they have different historical, linguistic and social backgrounds compared to the other flows experienced by Slovenia. Therefore, the models already created need to be re-adapted. The country is also characterised by a consistent rural dimension, which sometimes can act as an obstacle towards the inclusion of migrants, especially in the non-urban areas.

Opportunities

The sports system is well organised. The Ministry of Sport, the Olympic and Paralympic Committees and two Universities providing specific education are the main actors at the national level: they set the policies and the long-term objectives. From the Yugoslavian era to contemporary times, keeping a high participation rate in sport and physical activity programs has been considered a relevant objective. The main sports institutions actively cooperate also with international bodies, such as the European Union, Council of Europe or the International Olympic and Paralympic Committees.

The Federations, the clubs, and the organisations belonging to recreational sport and university sport are the main actors in implementing these policies on the territory. It is worth underlining also the cross-sector cooperation of sport stakeholders with schools, private companies and the Municipalities. In particular, each Municipality has both a specific department dedicated to sport, related to providing people with infrastructures and appropriate programs to be physically active, as well as the Union of local sport clubs, NGOs active at the local level representing the clubs active on the ground. These factors are important to bridge the gap between the national level and the citizens.

This is a very important element, since the territory is very diversified: this element (a relatively small territory having mountains, rivers, lakes and sea) allows for a varied range of disciplines: this is a crucial factor to allow any person to find the favourite (s) sport(s).

Another relevant factor is related to the sports culture. In fact, for Slovenian public opinion, media and stakeholders, there is no strong hierarchy among the disciplines, both in Olympic and Paralympic sport: this means that any athlete (male or female) active in any discipline (Olympic or Paralympic) are awarded of the same attention when gaining relevant results. The country is happy to celebrate its athletes and champions, bringing them close to the people.

Treats

In order to promote social inclusion of migrants in/through sport, it is necessary to set long-term, cross-sector and cross-border policies. But this can be very difficult, for many reasons. On one hand, because we live in a complex and global society, sport can be considered a complex and global phenomenon. Moreover, our era is characterised by instability at many levels and for many reasons, including the long-term effect of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and the overall state of the economy, hit by many threats, including the consistent cost of energy.

Trieste, a city for two leagues

Conclusions

To fully use the societal potential of sport as a tool of social change is a challenge everywhere, where football can play an important role. Anyway, in Slovenia, there is a good potential to test good practices, potentially re-adaptable and usable also in other contexts.

The Slovenian example seems to show that an inclusive sport system generates many benefits at different levels, for individuals, groups and communities, including reaching relevant results at the elite level. In spite of the relatively small population, the country has many world wide known sportssport champions, as well as many successes in different disciplines and competitions. These stars make the country recognised and recognisable at the international level.

– At the same time, sport allows people to find role models both among successful champions as well as people active at the grassrootsgrass root level. This contributes to finding in sport and physical activity to increase the quality of life, in terms of health, socialisation, inclusion, participation and many other levels.

– Inclusive sport systems can actively contribute to solving complex societal/historical issues

Thinking points

Educators can use this article to explore how sport can foster inclusion, identity, and social cohesion. The Slovenian example offers a valuable case for discussing how inclusive sport systems benefit individuals, communities, and nations — from improving quality of life to achieving excellence at the elite level. The following thinking points can guide classroom discussion and reflection..

What does the Slovenian example suggest about the relationship between an inclusive sport system and success at both the grassroots and elite levels?
How can a small country like Slovenia achieve international recognition in sports despite its limited population?
In what ways do elite athletes and grassroots participants serve as role models within an inclusive sport culture?
How can sport and physical activity contribute to improving quality of life in areas such as health, socialisation, inclusion, and participation?
In what ways can inclusive sport systems help address or even solve complex societal and historical issues?