SOCIAL INCLUSION

This study investigated the role of sports in promoting social inclusion and diversity at the University of Benin. Four research questions and two hypotheses guided the inquiry. A descriptive survey research design was adopted, and the population consisted of 46,110 students of the University of Benin. A stratified and simple random sampling technique was used to select a sample of 100 students drawn evenly from five faculties. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire validated by experts in Human Kinetics and analysed using descriptive statistics mean and standard deviation to answer the research questions, while Pearson Product Moment Correlation was employed to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 significance level. Findings revealed that sports programs significantly promote social inclusion by fostering interaction, friendship formation, and a sense of belonging among students from diverse backgrounds. Major barriers to participation among underrepresented students included financial constraints, limited awareness of available programs, inaccessibility of facilities, discrimination, and academic workload. Results also showed that while leadership in sports programs positively influences inclusion through fair treatment and encouragement of diverse participation, there remains a need for stronger policy implementation to support underrepresented groups. Based on these outcomes, the study concludes that sports are an important catalyst for social cohesion and diversity within the university environment, but structural and administrative barriers must be addressed to achieve full inclusivity. Recommendations were made to improve accessibility, awareness, financial support, and inclusive policy enforcement in the University of Benin’s sports programs.