Breaking barriers: how esports platforms promote social inclusion and access for underrepresented youth

Research Question This study examines how esports platforms facilitate or constrain social inclusion among underrepresented youth – especially those facing intersecting marginalizations related to gender, disability, migration status, and socioeconomic disadvantage. Integrating theories of digital inclusion, social capital, and intersectionality, the research conceptualizes inclusion as a negotiated and dynamic process within digital sport ecosystems, rather than a fixed outcome of technological access.Research Methods Adopting a qualitative interpretive design, the study combines 30 semi-structured interviews with 45 h of digital ethnographic observation across esports communities in the Middle East and Central Asia. Data were analyzed through Braun and Clarke’s ((2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101) reflexive thematic analysis, emphasizing collaborative theme development, researcher reflexivity, and contextual sensitivity throughout the analytic process.Results and Findings Six interrelated themes illustrate that inclusion in esports depends on layered access, digital literacy, and cultural legitimacy within online environments. Esports simultaneously served as sites of empowerment and exclusion – enabling belonging, self-expression, and transnational connection for some youth, while reproducing discrimination, toxicity, and algorithmic invisibility for others. The findings highlight how digital inclusion, social capital, and intersectionality dynamically shape opportunities and constraints for meaningful participation.Implications Theoretically, the study contributes an integrated framework that bridges material, relational, and identity-based dimensions of inclusion in digital sport. Practically, it offers guidance for platform designers, NGOs, and policy actors to develop intersectionally informed governance, inclusive digital infrastructures, and socially sustainable esports programs. Overall, the study repositions esports as potential spaces of social transformation – where equity, recognition, and belonging must be continuously cultivated through intentional design and support.