Does Fair Play Still Exist In Sport?

Alexandra, Johannesburg --

Professional sports are increasingly being plauged by cheating, performance-enhancing drugs and athletes that do not exemplify the ideals of fair-play and good sportsmanship. The beautiful game of football is certainly included within this statement as one only needs to look at the lowlights from recent World Cup 2010 matches to see this on display. Feigning injury, time-wasting, physically striking opponents, verbally abusing referees and cheating are all evils that have crept into the World Cup and look to be on the rise as the sport moves forward.

Yet, it is Africa's second World Cup, the FIFA Football for Hope Festival, that is renewing our faith in fair play. Good sportsmanship was evident all the way from the opening ceremony to the final whistle on day one of the competiton. While all the competitors are fighting for the title of “FIFA Football for Hope Festival Champions”, the Fair Play Trophy carries just as much prestige.

The Football for Hope Festival features teams of mixed gender and matches with no referees – disagreements are to be resolved through dialogue, encouraging fair play and good sportsmanship. After a goal is scored, both teams are encouraged to celebrate and the games are supposed to be played with fair play, rather than the score, as the most important aspect. At the end of the matches, both teams discuss the match with a mediator and decide whether or not to award the other team a fair play point.

While this framework cannot guarentee that there will be no disagreements, it does put in place a system that encourages strong, but fair competition, which is a breath of fresh air from the professional sports that we watch on televison. After day one, the festival's record in promoting fair play was fairly strong and encouraging to those that were beginning to believe that there was no such thing as fair play anymore.

In a symbol of the unity among the teams, Team Alex and Team Uruguay, the participating teams in the opening match, were escorted to the field by a guard of honor led by the other thirty teams. After a few quick pictures with FIFA President Sepp Blatter and South African President Jacob Zuma, the match kicked off and while one team did lose, both teams were winners in the grand scheme of things.

With the watchful eyes of the Alexandra, FIFA and the South African government on hand, both teams did justice to FIFA's motto of fair play. After Team Uruguay scored both their goals, they were given congratulatory high-fives by their opponents and at the end of the match there was nothing but hugs between the two teams.

It was a refreshingly positive opening matchday, with examples of fair play being evident on both pitches, as the teams fought hard, but fair for victory. The practice of congratulating the other team as they scored was continued for the most part throughout the afternoon, even as some games became a bit lopsided on the scoreboard. On top of that, teams frequently posed with their opponents for pictures prior to the match and exchanged hugs and high-fives after the match.

The two most poignant examples of fair play during the first matchday were witnessed during two very different matches, one was a very one-sided match between the delegation from Kenya and India while the other was a very competitive between Chile and Ecuador.

The Mathare Youth Sports Association (MYSA) of Kenya entered the festival as one of the favorites to lift the championship trophy, but proved that they are taking the fair-play component just as serious with their opening performance. With the score becoming increasingly one-sided in their favor in their match against Magic Bus India, it was clear that Magic Bus were becoming frustrated.

Yet, you could tell that MYSA had taken their foot off the pedal and were doing their best to keep fair play in mind. With every goal that hit the back of Magic Bus' net, the MYSA players did their best to keep the Magic Bus players' spirits high and not get discouraged. When the final whistle blew, the heads of Magic Bus dropped in disappointment of the final scoreline being 8-0, but before they could leave the pitch, the MYSA players grabbed them and brought them to the center circle.

What happened next was exactly what the designers of this festival would have hoped for as the players formed a circle with their arms around with each other, alternating between Magic Bus and MYSA players. The MYSA players were clearly trying to support the Magic Bus players and to get them to keep their heads up and let them know that they had still played a good game. It was a picture worthy of the front-cover of FIFA's fair play campaign.

The last match of the opening day came between A Ganar Ser Paz of Ecuador and Red Chile de Futbol Callejero of Chile and they did not take long to impress. The players entered the stadium in the two separate lines that have become the international norm, but they did so holding their opponent's hand. This unity between the two teams exemplified everything that this festival is about.

With one day down, it is clear that the Football for Hope Festival is being played in the true spirit of fair play. While there will certainly be disappointments during the festival and the fair play slogan will undoubtedly not be followed one hundred percent of the time, it is clear that these young athletes are providing their professional counterparts with true examples of what fair play and good sportsmanship is all about.