National Sports Victories May Fuel Anti-Refugee Sentiment, Study Finds

Major national sporting events can boost pride but potentially worsen attitudes toward refugees. This paper investigates how a narrow Kenyan victory in the 2019 Africa Cup football match affects resource allocation preferences and views on refugee contributions to diversity among Kenyans.

Data & Methods:

• An online survey experiment with a panel of 2,647 Facebook-recruited respondents following Kenya's win.

Key Findings:

• Increases national pride and preference for resource allocation toward conationals.
• However, leads to negative views about refugees' contributions to diversity.

Policy Implications:

• Sports victories can be reframed (emphasizing diverse teams or shared identities) to foster more positive refugee attitudes.