Can sport tackle inequality in South Africa?

This question is nowhere more pertinent than South Africa which, despite the multitude of sport for development projects across the country, has recently overtaken Brazil as “the most consistently unequal country in the world” with a Gini coefficient index of 0.679 (Bhorat, 2009). This is not a record to be proud of. Other social indicators are similarly poor. Half the population live below the poverty line, unemployment is estimated at 24.9% and 18% of adults are infected with HIV/AIDS (CIA Factbook, 2012).

Can sport play a role in reversing such inequities? Firstly, sport cannot solve these problems alone - many require improvements in other sectors such as education and health. Furthermore, sport can reinforce existing inequities if it reproduces a sports-industrial complex that privileges achievement sport and spectator sport (the recent Olympics being a clear example) over community-based sport and recreation. In fact, certain research has shown that mega-events can exacerbate inequalities in emerging countries - in this regard a study of the long-term effects of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa would be well warranted! But these are not the questions that many government departments, federations, corporates or even NGOs want to answer.

However, it is not all doom and gloom and there is no doubt that sport can play a positive, if limited, developmental role. Sport organisations would do well to work with existing development initiatives as reducing inequality requires a collaborative approach. Furthermore, while developing the individual to realise his/her capacity is a focus of many sport for development organisations, there appears to be a genuine lack of initiatives that seek to challenge, or reform, the very societal structures and conditions that caused this 'underdevelopment' in the first place.

If sport for development organisations are serious about reducing inequality then they need to engage with other sectors, better understand the root causes of these inequities and apply both curative as well as preventative measures. Until that happens, most initiatives will simply be plastering Band-Aids onto a seriously wounded body.