The dark side of national team identity: ethnocentrism and xenophobia

The emphasis in team identity scholarship often is on the positive effects of social identity, such as consumer behaviour and sense of belonging, often ignoring the potential negative effects. Within the context of national teams, where the team is symbolic of the overall nation, we posit that team identity can also have broader negative societal effects such as xenophobia and ethnocentrism. Using a survey design, we collected data from 655 Dutch citizens and propose a structural equation model examining the effects of national team identity and national identity on ethnocentrism and xenophobia. Findings reveal that feelings of xenophobia and ethnocentrism were significantly greater among participants who showed a stronger national team identity and national identity and provide evidence that team identity does have a dark side. As elite sport often is subsidised by public funding, we provide constructive proposals to governments that invest public money into support for elite sport.