Bridging the divide

This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the bonding effects of sport, which will be done by using the concept of social capital. For the case of Northern Ireland acting collectively means that there are positive relationships between members of the Protestant and Catholic communities. The author explores what the role is of cross-community sport projects in the city of Belfast in relation to the accumulation of social capital by the participants of the sport projects. For the research, which was carried out in Belfast, she focused on three cross-community sport projects. They all aimed to bridge the divide between the Catholic and Protestant youths, but their emphasis differed from one another. The main methods used for data collection included participant observation and informal conversations with all those involved in the projects.