‘It’s crucial to have someone that recommends you’: female immigrants’ pathway into sports leadership in Sweden

The establishment of immigrants in a new country is complex but can be facilitated through social participation and empowering practices. Sports, particularly via networks and volunteer-based clubs, represent one such avenue. However, gender norms have contributed to immigrant women being among the most underrepresented group in organized sports, especially in leadership positions. This underscores the need for studies adopting an intersectional perspective to better understand the factors that enable or constrain access to leadership. This interview study explored the experiences and turning points that enabled first-generation immigrant women to enter and develop leadership roles in sports. The findings highlight the importance of a supportive, trusting, and encouraging environment, alongside individual drive, in becoming a leader in sport. Additionally, traumatic events helped shape participants’ trajectories. Individual, social, and structural factors thus appear central in facilitating immigrant women’s access to leadership positions in sports