The role of soccer in the adjustment of immigrants to Australia: a South Australian case study 1947 to 2013.

This thesis brings together both existing and new pieces of research, conducted over a period of 8 years. There are four primary aims. The first is to analyse the role the sport of soccer has played in the adjustment of immigrants to Australia since the Second World War with South Australia as a case study. This thesis lies in the context of immigrant adjustment theory and it is an attempt to analyse the role played by soccer in the lives of both new arrivals and their descendants. The social impact of participation in soccer is a long neglected aspect of settlement experiences in Australian immigration literature. Soccer has been specified due to its position in Australia as a sport played and supported by large numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse immigrants. The second aim is to examine the influence of participation in soccer on cultural maintenance. Australian soccer clubs formed by CALD European settlers have a reputation of encouraging their members to maintain their ethnic identity while also stimulating anti-social attitudes – this study investigates the degree to which this is actually occurring, and the implications for cultural and social adjustment. The third is to investigate the potential for participation in soccer to influence the adjustment of immigrants from Asia, Africa and the Middle East – groups more representative of Australia’s immigrant intakes since the 1970s and presently. The fourth is to explore the implications of the study’s findings for immigrant adjustment theory and settlement policy in Australia.Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 201