Sport can be a force for good, but like many things it can also be abused and may damage individuals, or divide communities and nations. For example:
i. Sport ‘builds character’ – it gives individuals confidence, team skills etc. But for every winner, there is also a loser. Losing may undermine the self-confidence and self-esteem of some people.
As one writer has noted:
‘For every sportsperson with high self-esteem, good cooperative skills, and the character of a leader, there is another sportsperson experiencing depression, dealing with accusations of selfishness, and engaging in drug use or cheating as a way of getting ahead.’
ii. Competition in sport is a healthy way to encourage people to go for goals. But for some people:
“Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing”
and if winning requires cheating, then the end justifies the means.
iii. Sport may bring people together and bridge divides, but just as sport can unite, it can also divide. It can re-kindle old rivalries, and in extreme cases can lead to the outbreak of bloody conflict. There was even a ‘football war’ between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969, so-called because the six-day war was preceded by violence at an international football match between the two countries. In Mogadishu in July 2006, soldiers shut a cinema showing the German-Italy semi-final of the World Cup, leading to protests that led to the killing of two people.
iv. Sport can encourage social justice and promote human rights, but regimes throughout history have used sport as a means of promoting national pride over human rights. For example Hitler and the Nazi party’s attempt to demonstrate their power at the 1936 Olympics; when Brazil won the World Cup in Mexico in 1970 the military regime basked in the reflected glory; the Argentinean junta were quick to take much of the credit when their national team won the 1978 World Cup.
More information:
http://www.spectator.co.uk/alexmassie/3436431/the-idiocy-of-sports-nationalism.thtml
