RESEARCH QUESTION: How does football bring peace to international countries?

Without opponents we wont be able to play like were playing now. Enemies shouldnt be made
but friendship should be earned That was a quote by a professional football player of Indonesia
showing his affection to the Malaysians. At first he and his teammates werent fond of the
opposition team and had a grudge against them, what stunned them was the fact that the
opposition thanked them. They thanked his team for playing against them because if it werent for
them then they wouldnt be here playing what they loved. This illustrates that no matter how deep
the grudge, football is a possibility to enable grudges to change to friendship and respect.
Football, also known as soccer in America consists over 3.3 billion fans worldwide. Majority of
published sites or books states that football is the most popular sports followed by tennis and golf.
However, most popular could be defined differently according to the person. It could mean most
watched, most played or most money gained, as the definition varies, statistics shows that football is
the most played sports and most watched sports as well. Regardless what the definition of most
popular means, football still ranks top due to the comparison of football stadiums and other sports
stadiums. Also the number of leagues compared to other sports is unmatched thus cannot be
compared.
Friendship through football started back in 1914 when the First World War was inevitable. During
the Christmas period along the western front, both sides, the German and British and some French
were giving seasonal greetings as well as songs to boast up their spirits. Troops from each side were
welcoming to each other and played football. This incident was also known as the Christmas Truce
which is now recognised as symbol of peace and humanity although later on was deadly and brutal.
The area they played at was known as The no mans land where poisonous gas, bombs and
grenades were used to be thrown on, however, the two sides trusted each other and played like
ordinary people. This event backs up the point that no matter how deep such a grudge is even if at
war, football can heal scars.
Unfortunate countries like North Korea who is facing a crisis at the moment, despite their worries,
football is one of their main sports. They have attended and qualified a spot to the World Cup at
least twice as well as going through the quarter finals in 1966. North Korea is passionate about their
footballing skills as currently they have a striker, Jong Tae Se. He has scored numerous amount of
goals and played internationally; he is a role model of North Korea showing that whatever the
circumstance the crisis they are in, the passion of football can still strive them to become a world-
known football player. Currently, North Korea's football team is known as one of the stronger teams
in Asia, coming 4th overall.
I believe that whatever country youre from, if you have the determination, passion and motivation
then anything is possible. One of my friends came up to me the day before a football team rejected
me. These were his exact words said " Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance,
learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do." There was
an awkward silence before he said "that was a quote by Pepe, you didn't try or sacrifice anything but
I did. Don't just sit and moan but stand up and actually make a change" and then he just left. Even
though I was insulted by him, I didn't complain. It was the truth and from then on I did change and
now I'm on the varsity team for my school. My inspirational friend currently attends a 1 on 1 training
and he is working his head off and taking every opportunity related to football. His investing time on
football is paying off as he is known as the best player in our school as well as earning respect from
elders and professional coaches. Although he is more determined to enhance his individual skill than
teamwork, in the near future I believe that he will look towards playing with and advising his
teammates. His dream is to be able to step onto a professional pitch in the EPL and play with
professionals.
Speaking of which, English Premiere League (EPL) is one of the most famous football leagues in the
world. Contested by 20 clubs, around 7600 matches per season, over 500 players and approximately
90 different countries, EPL is the most international league in the world. Furthermore, you might
think that due to the range of nationalities it might mean that there would be more fights on the
pitch due to misunderstanding. But think about this, what is shoot in Korean? Shoot. What is
shoot in Indian? Shoot. What is shoot in French? Shoot. Well there might be a different word for
other words, however, almost everyone knows the keywords for football and this is how we, as
players communicate.
Carrying on, I had a personal experience on this matter. As I am living in Indonesia I have to face the
fact that people I play against and with will talk in Indonesian. Interestingly the majority understood
when I said pass, shoot, cross, foul, switch, etc. Also, annually there is this event called FOBISSEA
where a team from schools goes overseas and play against international teams. Whilst I was playing I
realised that every single player on the pitch was saying exactly what I say. Shoot. Pass. Cross. Foul. I
believe that football terms are an international language and anyone can communicate with anyone
who plays, watches or supports football. Therefore, the fact that everyone can communicate with
footballing terms it could lead to gaining friendship and respect. This could enable people to make
friends and create peace with each other.
Players can get frustrated with each other and that can create conflict, this might be because at the
end of a football match everyone wants to be the winner. However, if there is a winner there would
obviously be a loser. Thus, that losing team wouldn't feel positive and might get angry at themselves
or at his/her teammates. A simple goal can change numerous emotions on or off the pitch, not only
players can create conflict, supporters too. Since the start supporters are personally connected with
the team they support, making them sensitive whenever they lose or get insulted. However, this
happens to be only a short-term affect, as it never created a big conflict affecting the nation.
Another piece of evidence showing that football can create positive awareness around the world is
right now, football is critical because crime rates decreases, and this is due to football. Footballers
often go to the pitch play what they love and receive their wage, however, they don't realise that
they are helping the world get better. For example, Javier Hernandez Balcazar is a player who plays
for a well-known team, Manchester United. Even a rookie makes changes to the world, it is proven
that whenever he plays the crime rate in Mexico is decreased. Again, this shows that football is a
communal sport for goods in various parts of the world. Furthermore, as more people are interested
in football, that can lead to a large percentage decrease in criminal action which will develop the
world to a better place.
In conclusion, without football the world would be a worse place than as it is currently. I believe the
impact on society across the world has changed due to football around the world, as it enabled a
new language that can allow completely different people to communicate to each other. Despite,
the conflicts lead by football, the scale comparing the good things football has achieved and the bad
things is completely off the charts. It seems to us that more bad things have happened but this is
only because people only state that bad things are happening. They never tend to credit the good
things happening, such as they never mentioned the charity money raised by David Beckham and
other players but they do mention a civil argument between cities in England just because they lost a
FA cup final. Anyways, I believe that this evidences and opinion has shown that whatever race and
country youre from, football can bring everyone together
Word count - 1432
Bibliography: http://footballperspectives.org/building-peace-playing-football
http://www.goal.com/en/news/14/asia/2011/06/22/2542486/leicester-city-submit-offer-for-north-
korean-striker-chong http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea_national_football_team
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_truce http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Premier_League#Origins
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_foreign_Premier_League_players
http://searchwarp.com/swa539508-Top-Famous-Football-Quotes-20-Memorable-Quotes-About-
Football.htm http://soccerlens.com/mexican-crime-rate-drops-when-chicharito-is-playing/99351/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javier_Hern%C3%A1ndez_Balc%C3%A1zar