The Courier: The power of Sport

Dossier

Issue Nº XI (N.S.) - May/June 2009

The power of Sport

The Institute of Youth Sport at the UK’s Loughborough University has a research base on how sport promotes development. In our interview with its Deputy Director, Tess Kay, we tap into the body’s invaluable knowledge which is used by organisations that are funding sport for development projects.

Sudanese Participate in Information Dissemination Campaign through Sport, Khartoum (Sudan), November 2006.

How can sport contribute to social and economic development in developing nations?

I think everyone working in this area is cautious about over-stating the case, but sport really does have special qualities that can contribute to development goals. It is especially effective as a means for working with young people: they enjoy sport and relate to its global image. Football will draw youngsters in anywhere and they respond enthusiastically when given the chance to participate. We have seen sport bring young people back to schools and into community facilities, and when it does, it gives them access to a wide range of support. There are three areas that come to mind: sport as a vehicle for formal education; sport as a vehicle for life skills and health education and sport as a mechanism for female empowerment and addressing issues surrounding gender inequity. One of the areas which seems to be especially productive is sports development work with females. Our experience in Africa and India has shown that sport can be a particularly powerful mechanism for empowering young women.

What criteria should be used to evaluate the contribution of sport to social and economic development?

We need to think of sport mainly as a contributor rather than a complete solution in itself. What sport is particularly good at is engaging people who are difficult to reach through other means, giving them access to support which in turn can maximise their chances to challenge some of the constraints of their day-to-day lives. What seems to be one of the most important factors is that sport can provide a basis for constructive relationships with supportive adults. In Africa, we have learnt how differently young people interact with adults when they are in sports contexts. The playful and fun nature of sport breaks down barriers, encouraging less formal, more open relationships. We have had some very strong testimonials from teachers in Zambia who describe how playing sport alongside their pupils produces a completely different form of interaction compared to those they have with the same pupils, but in classroom settings. This allows them to talk more directly about important issues – in Zambia, especially about HIV-AIDS - and young people seem to respond very positively to information delivered in this way.

What is the most effective assistance that can be given to promote sport for development?

I would say sport is similar to other forms of development work: the most effective initiatives are those which are fully attuned to local cultural and practical realities and have local ownership meaning some prospect of sustainability beyond initial funding. The most effective assistance is to develop sports programmes in full partnership with the host nation.

One of the things we have to be careful about is not to parachute in ready-made sport systems which are too ‘westernised’. It is crucial that full account is taken of the cultural context into which any sports programmes are being introduced. This means partnership approaches from the very outset, not just in implementation and delivery. It is also important to recognise that there is sometimes cultural resistance to sport. In impoverished communities, even young children are required to work, and sport can seem an irrelevancy. It is interesting that even in these situations, sports programmes seem to flourish once they are introduced.

Do you feel that donor agencies lack interest in funding sport for development programmes?

It is not so much a lack of interest as a genuine lack of knowledge about what can be achieved through sport. Once organisations are made aware of the research evidence of how powerful sport can be, they often embrace it very fully and are keen to use it as one of their development tools. Sports researchers and agencies have a role to play in making donor agencies more aware of how well sport can work in promoting their core work – encouraging education, supporting health agendas, and delivering life skills. Sport also has a value in itself, as an enjoyable activity for children and young people who in impoverished communities are often bereft of other forms of play and entertainment. These are all things that donor agencies value. As researchers, we need to make sure they know more about how sport can deliver them.

Debra Percival

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