Adapted sport as an experience of social and emotional reconstruction for people with disabilities due to violence in football fan groups

Abstract

This study analyzes the relationship between violence associated with football hooliganism, acquired physical disability, and adapted sports as a means for social inclusion and emotional recovery in Bogotá. A qualitative field study with a phenomenological-narrative approach was adopted, working with key informants who experienced motor disabilities due to violence linked to hooliganism and who regularly participate in adapted sports. Data was collected through in-depth interviews and field notes, and organized through coding and thematic analysis, integrating the findings into interpretive frameworks. The results show that inclusion is not a single event, but rather a process conditioned by interpersonal, institutional, and community factors. On the social level, belonging, peer support, recognition, and institutional treatment are identified as mediators of continuity, while discrimination and attitudinal barriers restrict the extent of inclusion beyond the sports arena. On the emotional level, changes are observed in selfnarrative, self-efficacy, emotional regulation, and life planning, associated with routines, graduated goals, and recognition for performance. The discussion shows that adapted sport is linked to transformations when it reorganizes daily practices, enables networks, and reduces the centrality of stigma, although the stability of the process depends on access, program continuity, and family support. It is concluded that adapted sport contributes to inclusion and emotional reconstruction to the extent that it is integrated into a support network that reduces environmental barriers and sustains effective participation over time.