Sport has been in existence since time immemorial. It is a competitive form of play and has always been done for fun and entertainment. Although sport has mainly been viewed as a fun activity for players and enthusiasts, historical analyses have proved that sporting activities have the potential to achieve so much more. As a result, large amounts of resources have been directed towards sporting activities. Sports have earned a place in the modern society, where games are played in schools and afterwards on more professional levels including local, national and international competitions. The love of sport has been fueled further by the digital era, where activities are widely broadcasted and recorded for later viewing and analysis. Digital games have also been developed and played on various platforms including mobile phones and consoles. Over the years, sport has attained universal significance. It has broken the boundaries of gender, age, race and ethnicity to inspire passionate support and even create legends (Smith & Ford, 2010). This is a proof of its remarkable influential power.
The unique qualities of sport have been seen to stimulate social cohesion. When well organized, sport can achieve social good including unification of societies. This takes place on various groups and levels of society. First, sport has played an active role in reducing discrimination among various groups in society (Spacey & Sugden, 2015). In the early years, sporting activities were male-dominated owing to their physical nature and the predominant gender-based societal values. This reflected the widespread male supremacy. However, over the years, gender roles have evolved and equality emphasized. Sport has promoted gender equality by boosting female involvement in sporting activities. Today, there are many female professionals in the sporting community. Mixed-gender games have also been organized to boost social cohesion. For instance, in Rwanda during the 2011 Four Countries for peace football tournament, competing teams had the same number of boys and girls where only girls were permitted to score. Additionally, players were expected to resolve disputes in the absence of a referee. The event achieved its purpose of promoting peace and to top it up, cultivated gender equality, cross-gender relations and conflict resolution.
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In addition to this, sport has played an important role in uplifting the physically disabled in the society. This has been demonstrated by the increased involvement of the physically challenged in sporting activities. Disability is among the sensitive aspects of society. The disabled have not always been accommodated in everyday activities and thus, are prone to miss out on many life opportunities (Koller, 2017). Sport has played an important role in proving that disability is not inability. Great strides have been made in ensuring sufficient participation of the disabled in sports. This includes the initiation and development of games for the physically impaired as early as the late 19 th century. Today, the Paralympics are the second biggest sporting event in the world and have attracted an attendance of up to 170,000 enthusiasts. Through such events, the disabled have been more understood and regarded as equally important in the society. Consequently, social interconnection with the disabled has improved. This has played a vital role in their integration into societal activities.
Sport has also played a major role in unification of races around the globe. For a long time, governments established their superiority through racial dominance. This led to numerous dark periods of discrimination including colonialism, slavery, apartheid, Nazism among others. During such periods, sports have stood out as a powerful reconciliation tool. One of the well-documented cases is the post-apartheid era of South Africa. Nelson Mandela strongly believed in the unifying power of sports. In the year 1995, the African legend wore a Springbok jersey as a declaration of his support for the South African rugby team. This was highly unexpected because the team was white-dominated and thus unpopular among the black majority. Mandela rose above racial boundaries and encouraged the players to do their best for the country. South Africa went on to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup to the delight of all South Africans. By simply wearing a jersey and demonstrating passionate support, Mandela had stirred up a period of reconciliation. Through sport, South Africans had come together united by a common goal. Mandela went on to do the same thing the following year, where he wore a Bafana Bafana Jersey in support of the nation’s football team. South Africa surprisingly won the African Cup of Nations as well, an event that contributed South Africa’s overall healing process.
Sport has also made major contributions towards worldwide peace. This has been achieved through formation of organizations and programs that foster peace and harmony (Spacey & Sugden, 2015). Among these is the Peace and Sport organization based in Monaco. Peace and Sport was founded in 2007 by Joel Bouzou, a world champion and Olympic medalist. The independent organization aimed to convey the values of sports to warring communities so as to promote peace. Therefore, sport became a platform advocating for tolerance, fair-play, and coexistence. Within the last decade, Peace and Sport has helped integrate thousands of war orphans and refugees into society as well as provide basic facilities including food and education. With the help of other high-end athletes, the organization has campaigned for palpable action towards world problems and showcased the power of sport in achieving peace to world leaders and governments. Peace and Sport has also reached out to corporations concerning use of sport as a means of giving back to society. Another major program that promotes peace and unity in society is the Sports for Peace program initiated during the 2008 Olympic Games. This program was developed with an aim of promoting values of sport including impartiality, loyalty, freedom, intercultural understanding and tolerance (Spacey & Sugden, 2015). Sports for peace has achieved this through media campaigns as well as celebration of exemplary individuals and organizations for ethical and humanitarian behavior. For instance, in 2009, the Iranian National Team was feted for using green wristbands as a means of advocating for freedom and democracy in Iran.
Other than these, sport has also played a great role in promoting social cohesion among communities in indirect ways. For instance, communities now understand that the growth of local teams results in overall economic progress (Smith & Ford, 2010). Therefore, communities have united in passionate support for home teams which has resulted in increased social interconnection. Furthermore, growth of local sports has engaged idle youth and boosted harnessing of young talent. In this way, legends have been sprouted out of small beginnings. This has indirectly passed on important personal values including the ideals of determination, diligence, resilience and self-confidence. This demonstrates the extraordinary potential of sport to unite and develop society on various levels.
References
Koller, D. (2017). The Increasing Role of Disability Issues in U.S. Sports Law. Oxford Handbooks Online . doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190465957.013.8
Smith, G., Cahn, A., & Ford, S. (2010). Sports Commerce and Peace: The Special Case of the Special Olympics. Peace Through Commerce, 241-256. doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0237-0_17
Spacey, G., & Sugden, J. (2015). Football 4 Peace: An Activity-Based Community Relations and Reconciliation Initiative. Sports-Based Health Interventions, 117-128. doi:10.1007/978-1-4614-5996-5_8
