Competition in sport: Causing conflict or promoting peace-building?

Sport is used in peace-building around the world, and many innovative and successful programmes exist. A useful way to encourage opposing sides of a conflict to meet in one place, the UN regards sport as an important tool in peace-building, and values learned through participating in sport are frequently cited as important tools for conflict prevention and reconciliation. 

Preventing or causing aggression?
Traditionally, sports have been seen as a constructive way to release anger and tension. Causing a release of endorphins, sport acts as a natural mood enhancer which affects our interactions with people in everyday life. This theory is not without controversy, however. Some argue sport can do the opposite, encouraging the development of aggressive traits, a domineering attitude and bullying on and off the field.

In a 2011 book, sport philosophers Mark Halowchak and Heather Reid argued that contact sports such as rugby and boxing can actually heighten aggression. They even say, “…[by] condoning aggression in sport, we contribute to aggression and violence [in society]”.

Professional sport adds weight to this view and the ‘win at all costs’ attitude of elite players could be perceived as providing a negative example. Sport has actively been used as a tool for provocation and there have been high-profile examples of violence on the pitch, in the terraces and outside the grounds, in England, the Balkans, South America and elsewhere. 

Removing competition?
Some advocate removing competition from peace-building activities. This may be appropriate in some situations, especially to increase participation. While there is value in deemphasising the importance of competition, removing it entirely can be counterproductive, however.

This would ignore the positive characteristics developed through healthy competition: being a good winner or loser, cooperation, negotiation, perseverance and discipline. Enhancing these skills can help foster relationships and the value of getting individuals from different groups to meet and play on the same team is clear.

Avoiding problems
Those of us that are convinced of sport’s potential in peace-building must accept that sport is not always good and can have a negative impact in some situations. Projects using it must be aware of this and strive to minimise the potential for negative consequences. This means careful planning and knowing how to handle conflicts within a group.

Above all, projects must prioritise understanding the local context, culture and conflict: a successful model in one community may encounter problems in another. The effects of competition – positive and negative – are not the result of the competition itself but how it is organised and conducted. Coaches have a crucial role in implementing projects and determining whether competition will be a positive or negative experience for participants.