Role of Socio-Economic Determinants in the Sporting Performances of Countries - Essay Example

Role of Socio-Economic Determinants in the Sporting Performances of Countries: A Comparative Study on Performances of China and Brazil in the Game of Football 1.0 Introduction: The concept of sport as a physical activity played on a limited territory by heroic individuals is a comparatively modern one. In the ancient days, sports were considered to be a diversion from the daily routine, often involving the whole town. It was a mass participation activity connected with carnival fairs and social gathering. Sports function as major social events either showing social exclusiveness; for example joining golf clubs or other prestigious regional sports organizations, or crowd power like football stadiums or cricket stadiums. Sports is thus an activity, governed by a set of rules or customs and often engaged to show the physical capabilities of the competitors to arrive at a definitive outcome of win or loose situation. The characteristic features of sports are often determined by the cultural background of the countries concerned. The prominence of some sports in some countries have varied reasons which can not be generalized as there are various factors responsible for such prominence and those factors even affect the performances of the countries in the respective sports. Such factors among other things are the socio-economic factors prevalent in a country. This paper analyses the effect of such socio-economic determinants on the sporting performances of different countries in general and more specifically the performances of China and Brazil in the game of international football (soccer). 2.0 Sports and Culture: Sports in general usually encompass several social variables like systems, class, ideologies, gender, physical culture, money, social participation, territories and language. Mostly these variables represent the cultural background of the countries. The basic cultural attitudes of a country have a larger say in the sporting performances of the respective countries. The popularity and admiration that the people of a country attribute to a game depends on the cultural background of the country. A typical example to cite is the American football and base fall which is popular in the US. These games represent the pushy and aggressive nature of the Americans and their desire to arrive at a decision on any issues at a faster pace. A similar other example may be cited as cricket in Australia which is almost every Australians fancy. 3.0 Effect of Socio-Economic Determinants on Sporting Performance: "It offers opportunities for play and self expression, beneficial especially for those young people with few other opportunities in their lives. Sport also provides healthy alternatives to harmful actions, such as drug abuse and involvement in crime." (UN Report 2003) This statement goes to prove the effect of the socio-economic determinants on the sporting performances, in that the sports activities act as a deterrent of social evils. The social variables generally influencing sporting performance of a country are the Family Structure, Ethnicity, Language, Demography, Educational standards, Employment Status, Crime rates, Cultural Factors, Action by community based organsiations, Lifestyle issues, Recreational factors, Psychological factors and Historical dependence. The economic variables like, GDP of a nation, per capita income and industrial advancement resulting in accumulated wealth of the nation also play a predominant role in the sporting performance of the countries. "National wealth may generate sporting success through superior sports infrastructure and athlete remuneration. In addition, greater national income may promote individual sports participation by making leisure time more available." (Robert Hoffmann et al. 2003) The sporting performance of a country thus depends upon the nations' per capita GDP and the aggregate measures of economic welfare. The later part of this paper studies the sporting performances of China and Brazil in the game of international football in the background of the respective countries socio-economic determinants. 3.1 Football in Brazil: The most popular sports for both participants and the spectators around the world as a result of its magnetic mass appeal to all ages, sexes, cultures and social strata is the 'contemporary football,' which incorporates the culture, technology, politics and the economic variants in its practice and performance. Both developed and developing countries test their ability in the world cup events of football. In this context, the paper now analyses how the cultural background of the country and the prevailing socio-economic factors affect the performance Brazil in its favorite sport of football. 3.1.2. Brazilian culture and football: Culture and football - this liaison is a matter of course for a country in which a special feeling for the body, its movements, and its rhythms are basic to cultural identity Though not of its own origin, carnivals, music and football occupy a predominant role in the Brazilian culture. The football in Brazil is so intertwined with its culture that it has become synonymous with emotion, ecstasy, fantasy, spontaneity, instinct, rhythm and unpredictability which are the basic cultural attributes of Brazil. The country's people come from a number of different parts of the world and have helped to produce Brazil's own life style in the largest multi-racial economy in the world. "The combination of race and culture transformed soccer into a social phenomenon. The Brazilian soccer style is a reflex of the culture of its people who dance samba and use creativity and swing to promote various rhythms and choreographies. Soccer then is transformed into art and its players into soccer artists." (Antonio J. Muller) 3.1.3. Brazil's Performance in Football and its Socio- Economic Determinants: The economic policy of Brazil based on the pillars of fiscal austerity, cautious monetary policy and external adjustment though not popular has resulted in the economic advancement of the country in the recent past. Although the country is among top ten largest economies of the world and a home to a wealth of natural resources consisting of mineral and rich agricultural lands, levels of poverty are still felt by parts of the population especially in the major cities where unemployment and crime are a problem. But these problems however do not seem to have affected the country's spirit of sporting, in that the country is one of the tough competitor in the game of football. The game of football in Brazil has been used as: A vehicle of National identity Historically, as a means of retarding the acceleration of working class and popular discontent A medium of social transformation These uses have affected the performance of the Brazilian team in such a way that the team enters any international match with the sole intention of winning (of course any team would have this aim) against any other country. This is because of the mental frame of the players that they identify Brazil as the land of football, forgetting that it is an international game with an equal chance of winning or losing. This puts unnecessary pressure on the players to play the game offensively in most instances which leads to poor performance in some matches. This makes the team forget to adopt sharper techniques when necessary. Secondly, the game has been used as a means of making more money in the form of advertisement promotions and sale of branded items during world cup matches. This shifts the concentration of the players and may lead to the deterioration in the quality of the performance. The other factor is that the game is used as a means of getting votes and collecting funds by the politicians in the guise of promoting the game. This also adversely affects the performance of the country. Apart from this, the multinational companies because of their presence in the country facilitated by the game, uses such presence for doing illegal things helping money laundering. Sometimes, these kinds of activities may rope in the players of the game to indulge in such illegal activities which will reflect in their performance of the game. 3.2 China and its Performance in Football: "In parallel with the economic expansion and the associated opportunities the development of China as a football-playing nation will continue apace. The disappointing performance in the recent World Cup will only serve to increase the pace of reform. Given this, and the size of the population, it is inevitable that China will begin to produce world-class footballers." (Neil Eaves, Nigel Empson and Dan Fletcher) As evident from this statement China's performance in football is not that successful as that of the country in other sports like Gymnastics, Table Tennis and Swimming. There are several cultural and socio-economic factors responsible for this. This part of the paper deals with the football performance of China amidst of these variables. 3.2.1 Cultural factors: The basic attributes of Chinese culture signify the following features: Chinese are too eager for quick success Chinese are afraid of losing face in public Chinese players are afraid of failure in competition and even fans are afraid of failure Chinese players are not aggressive in nature. These basic qualities of Chinese in general deter the Chinese from giving a world class performance. However, according to 'Jinxia and Mangan', these factors are more valuable as face saving rationalization than a significant explanation of failure. 3.2.2 Socio-Economic Determinants of China and foot ball: In the wake of urban economic reforms in the mid 1980's football took larger strides in China and this lead to the sponsoring of football teams and competitions outside the sports community. Private enterprises were allowed to sponsor football tournaments. This marked the upward swing in the performance of the country in the game of football. The commercial investments in Chinese soccer are strong and lively. There are even external private sources like Hyundai and Samsung from Korea and Panasonic from Japan have sponsored football clubs. There has been an influx of soccer icons, symbols and images all around the country and this has virtually given a moral boost to the players and the fans alike to demonstrate higher skills and win the games they participate. The country's progress in international soccer is a demonstration of the commitment of the government's open door policy. With the market oriented reforms, the process of internal economic transformation has been accelerated and this has lead to an overall improvement in all the sectors including sports. 4.0 Comparison of the performances of China and Brazil in football under their socio-economic determinants: In Brazil, culturally the game is recognized and accepted as their national game and this enhances the performance of the players, while in China although there is greater support for the football game, certain cultural factors act as a deterrent factor for the advancement of the game. In Brazil, while the game is in grown up stage and the players are well trained to meet challenges, but because of the pride associated with the game and the resultant pressure on the players to win each game they participate, sometimes they lack direction and play offensive games which will lead to failures. In China the game is in the adolescent stage and still there is lot of physical and mental training needed for the players to overcome the initial hiccups of showing their real talent. Although the economic factors do not have any adverse effect on the performance, the cultural issues do have an impact on the performance. In Brazil the game is being used for exploitation by the politicians and the multinational for ulterior purposes and this also affects the performance of the players to some extent. In China, in spite of the support from the government and the private sponsors, the complacency of the players and the fear of losing do not allow the Chinese players to taste the victory. The sponsorship for advertisements and the money flowing out of such sponsorships may also distract the fullest attention on the sports for the Brazilian players. 5.0 Conclusion: Thus it becomes evident that there are several factors like social, economic and cultural statuses, demographic factors and political factors affect the sporting performance of different countries. In the light of the discussion it may be concluded that the performances of the countries of China and Brazil have different criteria affecting their performances. A comparison of the performances shows that both countries are driven by different cultural backgrounds which also have a bearing on the performances of the countries. References: Antonio J. Muller Soccer Culture in Brazil The Sport Journal [Online] Available from: http://www.thesportjournal.org/2004Journal/Vol7-No1/AntoniooMullerSoccerCultureinBrazil.asp Accessed on: 21st February 2007 D.Jinxia and J.A. Mangan (2001)Football in the New China: Political Statement, Entrepreneurial Enticement and Patriotic Passion Routledge, Part of the Taylor&Francis Group Vol. 2 No. 3 [Online] Available from: http://www.pierretristam.com/pdfs/wc8.pdf Accessed on: 21st February 2007 Neil Eaves, Nigel Empson and Dan Fletcher Football in China Sport Business [Online] Available from: http://www.sportbusinessassociates.com/sports_reports/football_china.pdf Accessed on: 21st February 2007 Robert Hoffmann, Lee Chew Ging, Victor Matheson and Bala Ramasamy 2003International Women's Soccer and Gender Inequality [Online] Available from: http://redalyc.uaemex.mx/redalyc/pdf/103/10305205.pdf Accessed on: 21st February 2007 UN Report 2003 Sports for Development and Peace: Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals Report from the United Nations Inter-Agency Taskforce on Sport for Development and Peace [Online] Available from: http://www.worldvolunteerweb.org/fileadmin/docs/old/pdf/2003/03_09_16_USA_SportDevelopment.pdf Accessed on: 21st February 2007 This is for your boyfriend: Comparison of the sporting performances of China and Brazil in international football in the context of the socio-economic factors: In Brazil football is regarded as one of the constituents of their culture which contributes to the improvement in the performance of the country, while in China in spite of the Government and public support for the game, the basic cultural attitude of the Chinese players prevent them from showing their real talent. In Brazil, while the game is in an advanced stage and the players are so professional they can meet any challenges. But because of the honour and pride attached to the game the players are greatly feeling the pressure to win each game they play whichever country is opposing. This, sometimes make the players lack direction and play offensive games which will lead to unfavourable decisions during the game and thus result in failures. In China the game is in the beginning stage which signifies that the players have to have a lot of physical and mental training to overcome their cultural barriers and reach a matured stage of play. The cultural issues do have an impact on the performance, even though, the economic factors like opening up of the economy and private sponsorships try to enhance the performance. In Brazil the exploitation of the game by the politicians and multinational companies for unfair purposes affect the seriousness of the game and this also affects the performance of the players to some extent. In China, in spite of the support from the government and the private sponsors, the game is yet to take off and a possible reason for such a state may be the complacency of the players and their fear of losing the games, since there are no other attributable reasons for the abysmal performance of the Chinese players. The money flowing out of sponsorships for advertisements may also deviate the fullest attention on the sports for the Brazilian players. Read More