Free Essay on Sports for Development Grant Proposal: Soccer Against Discrimination

The Sports for Development Grant Project chosen was Soccer, also known as football. It is a popular sport in the United States and the world over but is usually confused with American football due to similarities in the name but different gameplay. Soccer can be traced in its earliest form, known as cuju in the Chinese Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). It is the most developed game in the world to the extent of being called the World Game.

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Soccer is a versatile game, and as such, policies related to it are continually evolving, as in today's society, discrimination in this game is notwithstanding. The international governing body is the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), responsible for this game's policymaking. Soccer was first played in the USA in 1862, and from then, its development has been on an upward trend.

Football is a highly physical and contact sport, and it has various positions and formations; thus, various player attributes fit specific positions, thus the versatility in the game. This project is particularly meaningful to me as it would enable better reception of this sport right from the grassroots to the major leagues, and it will help share with others the benefits of this sport. From this project, I hope to gain experience and learn more pertaining football as a game right from its gameplay to the various formations associated with it. Further, I would like to experience how the game can change the conventional thoughts in society to be more inclusive, and equal, and reduce the discrimination associated.

Becker (1975) defines discrimination as an unequal treatment of equally competent personnel. Discrimination appears in various forms, including; employer, co-worker, and customer discrimination. In sports, Soccer notwithstanding, customer discrimination is rife, as Kahn (2000) describes it as the employer paying more money to the worker whom customers prefer to associate with. Solving these issues isn't an easy task as it includes a complete overhaul as such, the problem should be addressed right from the grassroots.

Introduction

Mission Statement

The mission statement of our Organization is as quoted in the title, Soccer against Discrimination. This mission statement is multi-faceted as it doesn't focus on any specific form of discrimination but all forms. We focus on mitigating those based on race, gender, ability, social class, and age. We want to show that Soccer is a game for everyone.

Key Components

Our Organization's key components would include a Resource Allocation and Planning department, a Procuring department, the Sensitization department, and a Coaching and Fitness department. The resource allocation and planning department would be core, as it would be integral in distributing the grant in the most efficient way towards realizing our mission. It would also act as an overseer towards the actions of the other departments. It would also play the part of the human resource department, i.e., hiring and firing personnel. It will also be very important in planning the events within the Organization's calendar.

The procuring department will be responsible for accruing the various equipment required for Soccer, including the balls, uniforms, and medical equipment, among others. The sensitization department would be key in educating the masses with the notion that knowledge removes bias. It would be tasked with developing frameworks against certain biases in Soccer and teaming up with the coaching department to rid the game of these biases.

The coaching and fitness department will be directly related to the game. It will include like-minded veterans and coaches of the soccer profession to spearhead our mission as they directly contact the players. Their role will be to implement the frameworks developed by the sensitization department with maximum precision while ensuring player fitness and wellbeing.

Value Proposition

Our Value Proposition will be unique, as it will be all-inclusive, this in terms of gender inclusivity, race inclusivity, among others. We will have programs for people of all ages and abilities and seek to develop a framework that looks into Soccer as a game, not only business, then developing a framework where we consider the ability requirements for each of the 11 positions and thus ensure inclusivity in terms of ability. Therefore, our Organization will be key to the growth of the game while promoting equality.

Significance of the Project

Social issues addressed

Our Organization will look to address various issues regarding discrimination. These include:

Gender Bias- We seek to address gender bias issues despite similar contributions; this is in terms of salary allocation, resources invested, among others. In the case of Soccer, they are a huge bias towards women soccer as they receive lower salaries, and they aren't allocated enough resources. Even in national soccer teams, the women team is less equipped and poorly treated than the men's teams. A case in mind would be the recent Women's World Cup, where the USA women's team won, but despite having better achievements than their male counterparts, their salaries and remunerations were still lower.

Racial discrimination- this issue is key in reducing discrimination; players in the soccer leagues should not be selected based on race but rather their ability and contribution. Thus any prejudice towards a specific race should be frowned upon. The game should be all-inclusive; even the racially segregated groups should participate in the game. An example is the Italian leagues, where people of color were racially aligned to the extent of bananas being thrown onto the pitch.

Social Inequality- We want to address this unfairness where only the high class can be associated with Soccer. This trait starts with the low-income households being unable to afford the basic equipment requirements for Soccer and lacking time to engage in the game instead of choosing income-generating activities, which is a huge disadvantage to those in the lower caste of society. We will do this by going to the grassroots to search for talent and sponsoring soccer camps in lacking societies. This will all be in an effort to prove anyone can play Soccer, whatever the background, race, even ability. It can be played as a form of recreation without any sort of prejudice for the fun of it. Soccer shouldn't be bound by age; we seek to promote this notion by promoting Soccer to the aged as a sort of interactive physical exercise.

Poverty and Unemployment- the leading cause of poverty is Unemployment, our project will offer employment opportunities not only to the staff but also to the talented juniors who will be scouted and offered a position by various clubs and play for pay, and in return, they will not only be able to improve their livelihoods but also of those around them. We want to correct a public notion that sport is a waste of time but rather proves that sport can be lucrative if done correctly.

Drug Abuse- idleness and peer pressure could be considered the leading causes of drug abuse among the easily swayed youths. We seek to reduce drug abuse cases for the youth by providing them involving activities to spend their time with instead of idleness, which will lead to indulgence in drugs. We will also provide counseling and show them they are better uses of their time.

School Dropouts- among the leading causes of school dropouts would be a lack of financial ability. We will offer scholarships and grants to talented youth in challenged areas; this will give them an incentive to remain in school. By keeping the youths in school, we will also contribute to the decrease in youths joining criminal gangs and contribute to safer neighborhoods.

Obesity- this is a big problem in our society today due to the poor health lifestyles where fast foods are the day's order. Soccer being physical is perfect for physical education classes. It helps reduce the threat of obesity in people of all ages and fosters healthy bodies by repeated exercising all while having fun.

Beneficiaries of this Project

This project will have a host of beneficiaries, these include; Women in Soccer, racially segregated communities, Youths from low-income neighborhoods, low-income communities as a whole, among others. The range of benefits will include scholarships, grants, soccer camps, and many more.

Schinke & Hanrahan (n.d) say that sport may be a solution to societal ills, risks, and hardships, assuming that these programs are thoughtfully conceived and made available when and where needed to those who need them most (p. 2). This way, sport, in this case, Soccer, will draw a host of beneficiaries.

Theoretical Framework

To determine the theoretical framework most suited to the project, we must first consider the connection of the social issues and discriminations with the framework. The theoretical framework most suited for this project is A Sports Participation Model based on Becker. According to Grima et al. (2017), the economical-time allocation theory of Becker (1965) prepared a groundwork for the general theoretical model of sports participation. The decision to participate in sports is based on monetary and time restrictions. The Becker based framework can relate the sociological with the increased sporting activities and thus a correlation with our subject matter, discrimination in Soccer.

The main reason this framework is most suited to this project is that this theory has been further developed to include several demographic and social variables. Thus, it could incorporate the discrimination and societal issues addressed by our project.

This framework helps explain the social issues we are trying to address by theorizing that sports participation is based on financial ability and available time. It backs that there is discrimination based on societal class; the higher classes can participate more in sports. It also provides demographics that further support the societal issues addressed by our project.

References

Becker, G. (1965). A Theory of the Allocation of Time. Economic Journal, 75, 495-513.

Becker, G. (1974). A Theory of Social Interactions. Journal of Political Economy, 82(6), 1063-1093.

Grima, S., Grima, A., Thalassinos, E., Seychell, S., Spiteri, J.V. (2017). Theoretical Models for Sports Participation: Literature Review. International Journal of Economics and Business Administration Volume V, Issue 3, 2017 pp. 94-116