My 18 months old nephew kicks
the ball when I ask him to score a goal.
Every Saturday Tudikhel is full of young people playing different sorts
of sports. Sports in general have been very popular all over the world and have
been able to stay inside the hearts of people. There must be very few people
who would not love one or the other type of sports.
Sport like football has a very
long history of origin and often is known as the king of the sports. It has
something that attracts people and brings them together. In case of Nepal,
recently we have seen how football and cricket united the whole citizen and
made them a single Nepalese at the time when people are/were divided based on
political identity, ethnicity and ideology. Football has always proved itself
as a tool to unite people whether on the ground or outside of the ground.
Generally, football has been
used as a tool of entertainment. However, it has some time been also used as an
instrument for propaganda and a tool of state control. Documentary by an
English television channel, BBCFour titled Communism and Football; and Fascism
and Football explains the way the state or the leader used football to fight
their political ideology. Football pitch became the arena where political
ideologies were jugged.
Regardless of the history of
the exploitation of football, there has been number of initiatives that have
used football for positive changes in the society. Star footballer Didier
Drogba became so influential that his call to stop the continuing fighting in
Cote d’Ivoire after his national team qualified for the 2006 World Cup led to a
five year ceasefire agreement.
Once Bishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel
Peace Prize winner 1984) said, “Sport does have a meaningful and powerful role
to play in the social transformation of society if care is taken to provide the
necessary conditions for success”. With this philosophy, Football for Peace
(f4p) has been running its program in more than 9 countries. It recognizes the
potential of football as a medium to teach positive personal values that lay
foundations for enhanced inter-community relations. The program aims to teach
values like Trust, Responsibility, Respect, Inclusion, and Equity to the children
below 16.
Soccer without Borders is another
example. They have been running the program in three different countries with a
mission to use football as a vehicle for positive change, providing
under-served youth a toolkit to overcome obstacles to growth, inclusion and
personal success. Many underprivileged and socially excluded groups, especially
refugees in case of America has benefited from this project.
Recognizing the importance of
sports in our lives, this year the UN announced 6th April as an
International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon says, “Sport has become a world language, a common denominator that
breaks down all the walls, all the barriers. It is a worldwide industry whose
practices can have widespread impact. Most of all, it is a powerful tool for
progress and for development.” In
context of Nepal, despite of the impression of no future with sports, there is
no doubt that Nepalese are a sports lover. There is a tremendous opportunity to
use sports in country like Nepal especially when we are at the post conflict
stage as a tool to bring young people together and work with them for the
positive change in their life and society in order to support the peace
building process. “Reaching to them” is a successful step.
