By BRYAN TERNG
alltherage&thestar.com.my
SPORTS can help young people develop their skills, talents and personality to contribute to society,” said former Chelsea FC and AC Milan footballer Marcel Desailly.
And he should know, seeing as he began to play professionally at 18, and went on to become a FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship-winner with the great France national team of the late 1990s and early 2000s, which he would later lead as captain.
Good sports: Laureus World Sport Academy members and leaders of community sports programmes from all over the world gathered in Kuala Lumpur for the 2014 Laureus Sport for Good Global Summit.
The 46-year-old was in Malaysia recently for the 2014 Laureus Sport For Good Global Summit, which gathered over 100 project leaders from sports-based community programmes around the world.
The event was a legacy of the 2014 Laureus World Sports Awards held in Kuala Lumpur in March.
The summit, in partnership with charity foundation Yayasan Rakyat 1Malaysia (YR1M), saw Desailly and fellow Laureus World Sports Academy members American ex-hurdler Edwin Moses, former British decathlete Daley Thompson and former rugby player Sean Fitzpatrick from New Zealand, sharing their in-depth knowledge on how sports can bring positive change to the community, especially for less fortunate youths.
Participants of the summit were shown how to use activities like basketball, football and lifesaving skills to engage young people.
Desailly discovered the Academy during the 2001 Laureus World Sports Award, when France snagged the Team of the Year award following their win at the 2000 European Championship.
During his time at Laureus, he noticed that even young people with poor attitudes can turn over a new leaf through the inspiration of sports.
He cited South Africa as an example, where youths involved in gang activities had the best brought out of them through sporting events.
“Let’s say you bring them into a basketball court, and appoint a young gang leader as a captain of the team. He will naturally start to develop leadership skills and a good attitude as he gets involved in the sport,” said Desailly.
He added that these youths will most likely retain the positive attitude acquired through sports, helping them lead better and more meaningful lives in the process.
As part of the Summit, held from Oct 13-15, project leaders were able to share their knowledge in using sports for development through a variety of workshops and activities.
“We use sports as a tool to gather the youths,” said Moses, also the Chairman of Laureus for the past 14 years.
The partnership between Laureus and YR1M was born when the Malaysian charity organisation’s chief executive officer Ung Su Ling noticed the commonality of goals between the two.
Former hurdling star Edwin Moses has been elected Chairman of Laureus for the past 14 years.
Ung is convinced that sports can be a means of reaching out to youths and helping them improve their character. “The objective is not in sports itself,” she said. “It is in the interaction youths have with their team mates and coaches.”
However, the drawback of using sports as a tool for social change in Malaysia is that it is a new approach.
“Most Malaysians only look at sports for the achievements, sports development, and the athletes’ performance,” she explained. “So, it takes a lot of time, effort and resources to put everything in place.”
But with programmes like Laureus Sport For Good around, let’s hope that things get better and sports gets a more prominent role in the community.
Tell us what you think!