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We love sports. It’s a powerful tool for children to keep their minds engaged and develop their bodies when calories are being burnt. In developed countries, sports is a fully matured industry. People develop careers in sports from a young age because of the viability of establishing a successful well-paying career for the long haul.
On this side of the world, though our sports industry is not as mature, it can be used to do good things and help young people. Young men who are involved in sports are less likely to engage in crime and drug abuse. Sports can be used to not only curb the vices that young people get into due to idleness but also nurture their talents and gifts.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime concurs that sports plays a key role in the influencing of behavior and preventing crime, violence, and drug abuse.
“The initiative aims to promote sports and related activities to prevent crime and effectively build at-risk youth resilience. Strengthening the life skills of youth is a key objective in order to minimize risk factors and maximize protective factors related to crime, violence and drug use,” says UNODC.
Sports can be used as a tool for peace. For instance, Kenya is currently charged because of the ongoing political campaigns. Youth are usually at the center of the fracas if there arises any. Crafty, selfish politicians give young people money to burn and cause chaos. They also give them weapons so that they can intimidate and kill the opposition if they have to.
This youth are idle, broke and unemployed. As a result, they’re desperate to do anything so that they can put food on the table. That’s why they accept measly amounts of money to cause conflict even with their very own close neighbors because they don’t have an alternative way of life.
Sports comes in handy at such moments. When these young people feel as part of a community and they’re involved in something for the greater good, they’ll have no time for activities that could cost their lives.
This is a call to NGOs to nurture sports at the grassroots level. There are many talented young lads and lasses who have no place or the chance to express their gift. But with the collaboration of key stakeholders such as government, community, NGOs, community-based organizations this dream can be made a reality.
“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development underlines the growing contribution of sports as a tool for peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect. It also highlights the contributions that sport can make to the empowerment of communities as a whole, to individuals (particularly women and young people) as well as to health, education and social inclusion,” writes the UNODC concerning the vision of using sports to prevent crime and influence positive behaviour.
