Sport Unites

Sports and physical activity are important parts of Finnish society. Sports fields, locker rooms, and training halls are places where, at their best, all kinds of people can feel accepted and parts of society. However, the same prejudices and negative attitudes that exist outside of sports also appear within the realm of sports. Sometimes sports is a gateway to equality, sometimes a reminder of the shortcomings of society.

When we think about athletes with foreign backgrounds in Finland, professional athletes often come to mind first. But sports is a lifelong journey. In Finland, athletes from different ethnic backgrounds have progressed from junior levels and competitive playing careers to become coaches.

The exhibition Sport Unites tells the stories of athletes and coaches who have moved to and from Finland from the early 1900s to the present day. In a series of interviews conducted for the exhibition, we meet six coaches who have worked or are still working in Finland, all of whom have backgrounds outside of Finland. In the interviews, they talk about their sports careers in Finland and abroad, the challenges they have faced along the way, and the significance of sports in their life stories. As coaches, they make Finnish sport more diverse and equal for future generations. Each of them has their own story, their own experiences – and their vision of more equal sports.

The exhibition has been made in collaboration with university researcher Malte Gasche from the Centre for Nordic Studies (CENS) at the University of Helsinki and doctoral researcher Sami Koskelainen. Gasche has studied issues related to sports and integration in the project “Integration and Empowerment: Organized sports and newcomers in Finland,” funded by the Kone Foundation. The exhibition is part of the joint project of the Finnish Sports Museum TAHTO and the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum ESOM, funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Sport program.