Sports Change The World Essay

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than government in breaking down racial barriers.” These were the famous words spoken by the former South African President Nelson Mandela while he was talking about how strong and powerful sports can be seeing that it is a worldwide shared cultural aspect. 1, 2

Indeed, this is what President Mandela did after spending 27 years in prison. In 1995, he used sports and rugby –which was considered to be as the sport for the white people– in order to unite his people together despite the apartheid issues that his country was suffering from at that time. And eventually he succeeded in creating the new era for his nation. 1, 2 Thus, thousands of years before that, the ancient Olympic games were created for spiritual festivities purposes. Political and religious customs have existed since then. In addition to that, from the time when it was revived in 1896, the games have always been used and have affected sport on the local

The first mention was in the IOC’s missions and roles, it was clearly stated that the IOC’s mission is “to oppose any political abuse of sport and athletes”. Then, when it comes to the IOC Members, several directives were subject to the members, among them was the commitment of the members by keeping themselves “free from any political influence”. In addition to that, in the National Olympic Committees’ missions and roles, the Charter instructed the NOCs to “preserve their autonomy and resist all pressures of any kind, including but not limited to political, legal, religious or economic pressures, which may prevent them from complying with the Olympic Charter.”