How sport can fix society

Sport helps give the youth a sense of direction and focus. It can also help fix society’s problems because of the passion it inspires in youth, regardless of boundaries, as highlighted by a Next Step 2014 breakaway session.

Derrick Charway used to practice sport for development (S4D) without ever realising the implications of the approach. It was only after he joined the Beckwith International Leadership Development (Bild) programme and started to climb up in the programme that S4D started making sense to him.

Derrick is currently national coordinator of Bild Ghana. “I believe there are issues in society that S4D needs to address. And I believe we can fix any issues through sport,” says Derrick, who is also sports development officer at the University of Ghana. Derrick is speaking at an S4D breakaway session titled ‘Improving Leadership Skills’, which is moderated by Vivek Ramchandani, former coordinator of the Australian Sports Outreach Program (ASOP).

According to Vivek, sport is a more effective approach than education. “I chucked up a career in education because I feel that S4D really works,” he says. Marc-Andre Buchwalder, CEO of the Scort Foundation, adds: “I feel like the power of sport is something that has taken all my life. And I know that this is a way of empowering young people regardless of who they are or what their situation is.”

The programme Marc-Andre works for helps to bridge the gap between professional football and the development world. Rohit, a beneficiary of this programme and a member of the audience, explains why this approach works: “It gives a sense of direction to the youth; it shows results," he says.

Structure, thus, is important to a sport for development curriculum. “Sport is a powerful means for youth to discover things about themselves and to help them develop self-confidence. It is also important to consider ground realities before structuring a programme,” says Vivek. “But for now, we need to get sport going where there is no sport.”