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 influential sports persons, who have been or still are active in Finland. In their own way, each of them reflects the diverse landscape of sports in Finland today. 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. Each of them has their own story and experiences – and a vision how sports could be made more equal for for future generations.

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, funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ Sport program. You can find the Estonian Sports and Olympic Museum’s Sport Unites exhibition here.