SPORT DIPLOMACY AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION (A CASE STUDY OF AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS 2013-2018)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Sport plays a key role in Africa. The continent’s particular passion for football stretches back long before the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Through its impact on social
policy and social integration, sport can make an important contribution to achieving development objectives in African countries, including health promotion, violence
prevention, gender equality, good governance and environmental awareness. Team sports and sporting activities that do not require expensive equipment are a particularly
effective means of reaching and motivating young people. They provide access to disadvantaged groups, help develop social skills such as the ability to deal constructively
with losing, and encourage fairness and tolerance. Sport’s potential for promoting development is unlocked when the right social, cultural and economic conditions are in
place, and when it is taken seriously and taught professionally. There have been few efforts thus far to use sport to achieve development policy objectives in many African
countries. Often, sports grounds and sports education provision are lacking in the very places where children and young people need them the most. Implementing inclusive,
sports-based development projects and sports-friendly infrastructure effectively and sustainably requires viable concepts and a base level of expertise. When integrated into
development-oriented education and youth work, sport creates opportunities and prospects. Since the United Nations goal of maintaining international peace and security,
states looked for other ways to legitimize their superiority peacefully and the use of sports as a tool of soft power is one (Cooper 2004). It is for this reason that sports can be
considered as one of the most exciting modern phenomena—modern because, in its current form, it was born no longer than 150 years ago, exciting because it wins the
interest of millions of people (Kobiereck, 2013). International community uses international organizations to engage states in multilateral relations; sports too have international sporting organizations for various sports but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is the only organization that brings together all professional sports and states in one venue at one point. It is for this reason that the IOC is the most competitive in international arena for states to acquire prestige and build their image. “Moreover, the Olympic Charter concedes that at the heart of the modern Olympic movement is a desire to contribute” “to building a peaceful and better world.” Sports have become an instrument of
identity for countries. Globally the phenomenon of integration has continued to gain momentum, bringing a proliferation of cooperation all around the world. Integration is
proceeding rapidly as the result of the increased flow of trade, capital, money, direct investment, technology, people, information, and ideas across national boundaries. Africa
too is keeping up with this trend. The history of Regional Integration in Africa dates back almost a century, most of which has colonial historical connotations. Indeed since
their independence African countries have embraced regional integration as an important component of their development strategies and concluded a very large number of
Regional Integration Arrangements (Hartzenberg, 2011) African leaders at that time and even now see integration as a rational response to the economic challenges faced by
many of their countries. Although regional integration makes sense for Africa; a continent characterized by small countries, small economies and small markets, these
agreements have mixed levels of commitment and success rate. Africa’s regional’s Integration are generally very ambitious and have unrealistic time frames. They are also
mostly neighbourhood arrangements Integration in Africa in mostly seen as a bureaucratic process which involve government ministries and sometimes a few elite and
academia yet it mostly affects the citizen. Regional integration can have both positive and negative effects. This study therefore analyses the role played by sport diplomacy in
the process of Regional Integration in order to alleviate the social challenges of integration with a specific focus in the West African Community (WAC).The anti‐apartheid
movement won an early, crucial victory when South Africa was suspended from FIFA in 1961, which kept the country out of international football until 1992. South Africa’s
suspension was temporarily lifted in 1963 but re-imposed in 1964. South Africa was expelled from FIFA in 1976.View all notes The apartheid regime deployed sport diplomacy
in an attempt to promote minor reforms intended to end international isolation. In the wake of South Africa’s expulsion from the Olympic movement in 1970, Prime Minister
John Vorster announced a new ‘multinational’ sport policy: ‘Europeans’ and ‘non‐Europeans’ (i.e. Africans, Indians and Colored in apartheid language) would be allowed to compete against each other as individuals in the open ‘international events’ (the Olympic Games, the Davis Cup, and so on) but not permitted to participate in racially
integrated South African national teams. ‘Non‐racial’ sport within South Africa, however, was not allowed at club, provincial or national levels.
DOWNLOAD COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIAL
SPORT DIPLOMACY AND REGIONAL INTEGRATION (A CASE STUDY OF AFRICAN CUP OF NATIONS 2013-2018)
