SPORT 1913 - 2013

part one_CHAPTER 4

Macedonia, Football 4 Peace in Israel/Pales- tine, War Game. No More! (Democratic Repub- lic of Congo), Right To Play refugee camps in Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Peace Player International-Cyprus (PPI-CY), “Basketball, the Hoops for Hope” and the governmental Siyadlala 1 initiative in South Africa for par- ticipants of all age groups to mention a few. Indeed, if sport projects directed at peace-building are appropriately implement- ed, monitored, evaluated and sustained, they hold promise to play a role in the process of conflict transformation and reconciliation of a country. An understanding of such assump- tions, however, is essential in order to manage for the programme to maximise the possibil- ity of achieving desired outcomes (Coalter 2002). Interestingly the majority of the above mentioned international projects use football as an entry point towards reconciliation be- tween divided communities. The value of sport is manifold. The value of sport includes the ability to unite people espe- cially when it comes to performing and win- ning as a team. The value of sport for building a national identity, for example after World War II with “the miracle of Bern” in 1954, and for contributing towards peace and stability in some of the war-torn countries such as Liberia and for reconciliation and nation-building, has been stressed for example also with regard The Value of Sport – Possibilities and Challenges

to South Africa. Nauright emphasises that sport can be seen as one of the most signifi- cant shapers of a collective or a group identity in our world today. In many cases, sporting events and people’s reaction to them are the clearest public manifestation of culture and collective identities in a given society (Nau- right 1996, 69). We must, however, always be aware that there is also “the other side” to sport, that sport has both uniting and dividing features, that it is able to manifest contradictory out- comes in terms of conflict and diversity on one hand or cooperation and “unity in diver- sity” on the other. Sport events have also been able to trigger factors in some interna- tional conflict such as the so-called ‘soccer war’ between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969. Sport can promote hooliganism, na- tionalism and racism. Recent events such as the shooting at the national soccer team of Togo in Angola in 2010 where three people were killed in the process (Fool’s Gold Feb 4, 2010 7:00 PM EST) and the Khartoum soccer game between Egypt and Algeria in Khar- toum led to widespread violence. Even for the upcoming UEFA 2012 soccer event in Europe there are major concerns that “the biggest sporting event in eastern Europe since the fall of the Berlin Wall appears to be in crisis over reports of racism within the host coun- tries of Ukraine and Poland.” (http://www. watoday.com.au/sport/racist-battle-lines- drawn-in-ukraine-wi l l-euro-2012-help- 20120602-1zouj.html)

Another challenge is government sup- port. The question is, do governments view sport programmes as integral catalysts or con- tributors to social or economic development and to a peaceful society? Does sport have a real role on their national agenda? Is sport a priority area in terms of funding and educa- tion? Do they join forces with other govern- ments departments and federations, clubs and non-governmental organisation to use sport as a tool for peace and development? Sport is a social construct and its role and functions depend largely on what we make of it and how it is portrayed. If sport is to unfold its full potential, then it is vital to work to- gether and ensure the dividing features are guarded against and the positive effects of sport is emphasised. Conclusion Sport is seen to play an important role as a promoter for peace and social integration in different geographical, cultural and political contexts. Various examples have shown that sport under certain conditions can be a pow- erful tool to strengthen social relationships and to promote ideals of peace, tolerance, team work, non-violence, understanding and mutual acceptance. In that way, sport pro- grammes can take societies forward. However, if not properly conceived, managed, and as- sessed, they can also reinforce old prejudices, stereotypes and divisions, undermining com- munity buy-in and causing multi-stakeholder collaboration and sustainability to fail.

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1) Siyadlala is a Zulu word, which means ‘let’s play’