Gender

Within sport, the issue of gender is always ever present. However it is most apparent in football. Many people believe more money should be pumped into the women's game but I disagree. If you look at the crowds at a women's football match they are much less then that of a men's football game. As well as this there has been a lot more money invested in men's football. I believe if women's football wasn't banned for a long period in the early 90s, women's football would be at a much more advanced level than it is now.

In addition to the issue of money, the issue of sexism comes in to play. ''Let the women play in more feminine clothes like they do in volleyball. Female players are pretty, if you excuse me for saying so, and they already have some different rules to men – such as playing with a lighter ball. That decision was taken to create a more female aesthetic, so why not do it in fashion?" This was from the FIFA president at the time Sepp Blatter which makes the comment even more unbelievable. I feel as though since most of the council members or committee members in sport are male the decisions or suggestions they make don't usually benefit the female gender.

Furthermore, Of the 106 national Olympic committees, 5 have female presidents. Out of the 34 international sport federations that participate in the Olympic Games, only two are led by a woman. This further backs up my point about female lack of representation.

I feel as though this ideology is very ingrained into the system now and it would be very hard for the current era to change anything. However their are many inspiration female athletes out there and I believe a change will come in the future.

The body

In todays society no matter where you go, different places will have different ideologies of the perfect body. Sport is no different in that respect. A good example of this in the current era of sport is with Gonzalo Higuaín. On his day Higuaín is one of the most prolific strikers in the world and has been sought after by many big clubs in the past. In recent times he broke the Serie A scoring record with Napoli with his 36th goal of the season on the final day of the season, His hattrick goal sealed the record. However since securing his move to Juventus he has come under much scrutiny about his size and physique. Higuain responded to his critics by saying .'It is better if you keep saying I'm fat, I will continue to score goals,' he told Tuttosport.
'Come on, I'm fine, I have trained for 20 days and I honestly do not understand all this interest on my condition. 'I believe the idea behind the perfect body stems back to the original Olympics where being in the prime condition came hand in hand with sporting ability. I feel as though many people still believe to be the best at a sport you have to have the best body.

However there are cases in sport where not having the best body doesn't limit a sportsperson competing at the highest level. Another example of this is with Tyson Fury who defeated Wladimir Klitschko in a fight which shocked the world. Tyson Fury's body was described as 'unhealthy', 'Dad bod' and more but he defeated an opponent who was in much better physical shape. I believe the main reason why body shaming in sports exists is because of commercial reasons. A good body is what sponsors want to sell products or entice people to come and watch live events. However having a good body does not necessarily make you better at sport, I believe even though many people understand and accept that it isn't widely accepted as the sponsors prefer selling products.

Higuaín at Juventus

Higuaín at Napoli

      

Commercialisation

Football is such a lucrative business these days. We often find that we are losing values within sport just to appease the People who are providing the cash. For example, there are discussions for premier league games to kick off on Sunday at 11am to appease the Asian watching communities. There are even talks to get rid of 3pm games altogether. Many fans these days are really upset at how commercialisation seems to have come at a cost to the true game. Some would argue that since the Friday night fixtures and Monday night fixtures were introduced, the quality of games have decreased. However, Football wasn’t always such a lucrative business and it certainly never used to be so commercial.

Money is now a huge part of the game whether we like it or not. In 1961 the average wage of a footballer was just 20 pounds a week. Compared to in 2016 where footballers on average earn 2.4 million a year. Furthermore, Sky sports current tv deal is worth an incredulous 10million a game. This is crazy money for a sport which had such humble beginnings in the 19^th century.  A lot of top players are now choosing to join uncompetitive leagues with the promise of huge wages meaning a lot of players in their prime are being wasted. A good example of this is Carlos Tevez. Tevez is earning £615,000-a-week in China against players no where near his level. He stated in the past ‘I don’t want to play anymore. I’m tired of football but also the people who work in football. I don’t want to play anymore and I’m talking seriously. Football is only about money and I don’t like it. I would love to have my old life back old my neighborhood as I don’t like my way of life today’. The effect money and commercialistion has had on Tevez is a prime example of why fans are upset. A player previously heading for greatness, settled for money. I believe that many footballers will follow suit and many of the leagues will find it hard to compete financially. In addition, I believe that the sport itself will start to be adversely affected by this, not just the players.

According to Holt (1990, p12) Modern sport according to received wisdom was invented in the mid-Victorian years- the 1850s to 1880s.  However, since then so much has changed. Before all the money was introduced into the game, many players used to play for the shirt. Now it’s all about following the money. Players are happy to sit on the bench and earn £100,000 grand a week instead of earning less and getting game time. However, it would be very naïve to say all footballers are like this. Many players still love the game for what it is. But how long will that last? With more and more money getting pumped into the game, how long before even the most hard working down to earth heads get turned?

However, there are those that would argue football is progressing in the right direction. Compare a game of football from the mid 90’s to now and you can see that players are a lot more physically fit and managers and coaches are a lot more tactically aware. Although as I noted in a previous essay a huge consequence of commercialisation is that the divide between elite and amateur performers is growing with the divide set to increase more over the coming years. This is very true and can be seen today in the Uk Football scene. Grassroots football has suffered as a result of this also. A good example of this is how England do very well at youth levels versus rivals but then those rival players stay on and become better whereas the young English talents are loaned to league 1 and championship teams as managers have so much pressure as a result commercialistion to win everything and would rather trust a multimillion pound star then a young talent.

In conclusion I believe that even though teams are reaping the benefits of commercialisation, the fans and young players are suffering as a result and some would say the National side is suffering the most.

Reference List

Richard Holt (1990), Sport and the British: A Modern History, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Bibliography

Rob Steen – Floodlights and Touchlines, A History of Spectator Sport (2014)

Bill Murray – Football, A History of the World Game (1994)

2nd Ethan Interview

 GUNNING FOR OLYMPIC GLORY

Ethan Luke Chen,19 years old, is currently a student at Ual who represents his National side the Philippines in the U21 rugby league side. He has been Playing for his National side since he was 16 years old and has learnt and grown a lot over time.

‘When I first put on that shirt, the pride and elation I felt was amazing. Since then every time I’ve put on the shirt it’s been a huge rush of pride but nothing compares to the first time I wore the shirt. I still remember the match like it was yesterday’.

Balancing University and Rugby is no easy feat. Especially for a student with so much passion and ambition. However, Ethan comes across as a guy who is juggling both with relative ease. ‘I don’t get to train much during term time because I’m focusing mainly on my work, however I am always in the gym keeping fit and ready. When term ends, I fly out to the Philippines or Qatar and train with the rest of the squad. They put me through my paces but I’m generally at the same level. ‘

The 2020 Summer Olympics will take place in Tokyo, Japan, from Friday, July 24, 2020 to Sunday, August 9, 2020. Ethan, who has been in the side since he was 17, has ambitions and dreams to play in the Tokyo games. ‘The Olympics is the dream, as a sportsman I want a platform I can play on that means I can be recognised. More importantly though I feel as though wearing the national shirt at the Olympics surrounded by my teammates, all which I consider brothers, would be an absolutely unreal moment and something I could look back on with pride and cherish for the rest of my life.’

‘Obviously getting to the Olympics will take a lot of work, anyone who appears at any Olympic game has earned their right to be there and is someone I look up to. My sporting inspiration within the Philippines is the current National 1^st team captain Luke Srama as he has been there since I first got into rugby and is such a wonderful, wonderful player. My sporting hero though has to be Roger Federer. He is like a fine wine, with age he just gets better and better, He incorporates everything new he learns into his game and has been at the top now for quite some time. He has outplayed and outlasted many of his rivals and continues to be in the top 3 players in the world despite his age only increasing. He is an artist, I know this because he mates all the difficult stuff look so easy that you forget its actually really hard what he is doing’

Ethan will be Meeting back up with his teammates this summer and hopes to have a successful period with them and convince the coaches that he is still the right player for the squad.

Audio/visual match Report

This is my match report with Ethan following Liverpool's successful campaign and qualification into the champions league



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2jfwR36d8g

Cheerleading video Interview

This is my video Interview with Ual student and First team Cheerleader Lydia Catherine Moss to discuss how the season went and her plans for next year.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYAP_SXlE_U&t=3s

Ethan Interview

Ethan plays for the U20s Philippines National rugby team and also studies at Ual. So I thought it would make an interesting interview to see how a student balances uni work and professional rugby



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlYKhLplHIE&feature=youtu.be