Performance Sport: Education in Fair Play? (Some Empirical and Theoretical Remarks)

Abstract

In this report the question of education in fair play in football clubs is critically discussed. The results of a representative study of the attitudes of juvenile football players, football coaches and 12-14 year-old pupils towards fair play and violence verify that violence and unfairness are the logical consequences of the comprehension of a sport that is solely or primarily oriented towards success. The longer 12-14 year old juveniles play soccer in a soccer club, the more they are willing to see intentional fouls as fair; thus the more they internalize the moral of “fair foul”. On the basis of these results, the efforts to promote fair play and the chances of an education in fair play are discussed critically. © 1995, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.