Who is football for?
Like every football fan I was saddened to read this week about yet more examples of people corrupting the sport to enrich themselves at the expense of the true nature of the game. As with any global business, appropriate governance and administration are vitally important – and just as important are transparency and the ability to hold wrongdoers to account.
But this is not football to me. Beyond the accusations or institutional decisions, football is one of the most positive forces alive in the world. There are hundreds of millions who choose to just enjoy the game and to use it to do good – promoting equal rights for women and girls in Kenya, providing education and employment to youth in Haiti, creating a path back to society for homeless men and women in the USA.
In these organisations, and many others like them in the streetfootballworld network, lies the true power of the game. I believe that whatever the outcome of the current situation within the governing body, a movement is growing in the world of football to recognise, elevate and leverage the power of football to become a force for social change.
We are heading toward a more globalised, connected and interdependent world. A world that will need more global, connected and interdependent solutions. I believe that, despite all the successes of the grassroots in changing lives, and in many cases saving lives, the real power of the game is still to be unearthed.
Like every football fan, I look forward to the day when the word ‘football’ is synonymous with a powerful global force that carries the purpose of its business – adding value to society at its core.
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