Football_Passion

Charlton Athletic Community Trust Question ‘The Beautiful Game’. Why does football inspire such passion around the world' Football’s really the “people’s game” with something for everybody. Short people can look up to a Roberto Carlos; tall people to a Michael Ballack, and fat people to a Ronaldo. Football can be played everywhere and anywhere in the world too- all you need is a small clearing, grab a few pals and a ball or even just a rusty old can would do. Playing the game itself is easy, with rules In every major football match, there would always be the excitement and celebrating accompanying victories. This unites During the oppressive years of apartheid in South Africa, football humanised the lives of people who had little else to cheer about. It fostered friendships and camaraderie among team member and fans, transcending the enforced divisions of the time. Football – as with other sports – was a key arena for the struggle to end apartheid. As elsewhere, in Africa, the victory of a national soccer team is a victory for a country as a whole. When Senegal reached the quarter finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, skipper Aliou Cisse reflected: “During the World Cup there were no more religious or ethnic problems, everyone was pulling in the same direction. Passion is the fuel, that fires up the enthusiasm. No matter where you go in the world, the language of football speaks for itself, transcending class, age, religious and gender barriers. High in the mountains on distant desert plains, on paradise beaches or arctic wastes — if you don’t speak the language you can always talk passion- football. References: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,419517,00.html\ http://www.sa2010.gov.za/african-football