Does football promote freindship or enmity - Essay Example

Football is a sport that has the capa to promote friendship. For instance, it is well known that soccer is the most popular sport, with regard to participation, throughout the world a compared to others such as basketball, volleyball or even rugby (Foer 25). As such it is common to find that people of different backgrounds have their favorite teams, which they support whenever there is a tournament such as the world cup among others. In addition, it may also be true to say that these people i.e. the fans have their favorite players in these teams whom they admire due to their display of skills and tact while on the field.

Apparently, most soccer fans prefer watching matches in social places such as clubs, restaurants or at home as long as they are in the company of people who have interest in soccer. Consequently, a bond is created between these people, who may be strangers, since they will have a common topic for discussion throughout the 90 minutes. In this context, it is true to say that football facilitates and enhances the creation of friendships between strangers however short lived they might be (Foer 39).

Similarly, football promotes friendship in terms of suppressing racial mentalities that promote discrimination. The world cup for example sets an international stage for teams from different countries, some of which have been in conflict with each other for a long time due to political or ideological differences. Whenever these teams are playing, the people watching get to forget their differences, especially due to the fact that there are high standards set for officiating matches such that every participant feels comfortable with the results.

This is made better by the display of sportsmanship by footballers whereby they shake hands even after one of them has committed a foul against the other. By doing so, they portray a high level of emotional intelligence which becomes a good example for those who are watching. The US troops in places such as Iraq have continued to utilize football as a tool for bringing together local communities by organizing competitions among themselves as well as with the troops so as to build trust and promote coexistence.

It may be worth noting that Nelson Mandela of South Africa utilized rugby successfully as a strategy to bring together white and black citizens who loathed each other and therefore, there is no doubt that football can do wonders in promoting friendship (Foer 45-52). On the other hand, football hooliganism has continued to arise as a major setback. This is where supporters of various teams exhibit high levels of enmity against each other such that they end up fighting and destroying property either before or after losing a match.

Supporters of some of the teams have gone further to create organized gangs such as barras bravas in Argentina, where it is believed that more than 250 people have lost their lives in the period between 1924 and 2010. Similar cases have been reported in places such as Mexico, United States, China and England among others (Stott 18). The battle of Everton Valley is one of the conflicts in the history of football, which can illustrate the potential that football has of promoting enmity. This is a battle that involved supporters of Manchester united and those of Everton in 2005 and which, surprisingly, left no persons with serious injuries (Stott 31).

However, several people were arrested for petty offences such as being drunk and disorderly among others. In this context, it is true to say that football does not only promote enmity but also endangers the lives of those who go to stadiums to witness matches. It may also be important to mention that not all people are football fans. As such, arguments may occur in homes with regard to utilization of the television whereby one partner may want to view a different channel with different programming while the other is of the contrary opinion.

Staying out too long till late in the night watching football in social places may also be a potential contributing factor to arguments at home as one partner may feel neglected. Works Cited Foer, Franklin. How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization, HarperCollins, 2004 Stott, Clifford. Football Hooliganism, Pennant Books, 2007