CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

Since the beginning of the 20th century, diplomacy has evolved to accommodate the fact that public opinion is ever more influential in international relations. The actions of diplomatic officials are under the public’s watchful eye and dependent on the interpretation’s media give to diplomatic achievements (Stearns, 1979).

Sports is an age old activity that has been practiced from time immemorial. According to Pierre Arnaud (Arnaud & Riordan 1998:6), Sport is more than a simple hobby, it belongs to the State. Athletes or players are the ‘ambassadors’, the ‘official representatives’ of a ‘national culture’.

There is an implicit cohesion and ‘solidarity between a people and its national sportsmen’. It creates a symbolic picture to the population itself, in the eyes of other nations’ populations, ‘in terms of its influence, prestige and vitality’. In this case, states use sportsmen influence to encourage national unity, develop and embellish their external prestige: ‘

And sport plays this role for a majority of great political powers’. The first link between sport and nationalism occurred in 1912: ‘The 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm were considered by some to be the first major sporting events where nationalism and sport became inextricably linked’ (Arnaud & Riordan 1998, p.25).

Tensions between France and Germany could be seen in the newspapers. The compositions of the Juries were contested by the French team for being biased. It was only the First World War which ended this utopia of peace through sports.

Arnaud said: ‘As the numbers of international sports competitions increased and became established, countries became aware of the extraordinary social, cultural, economic and political scope of sport. The phenomenon only took on real importance after 1918 chauvinism and xenophobia.

The terms of ‘honour’, ‘reputation’ and ‘identity’ are used to promote national pride for their national teams. International Relations do not only include governments’ relations and national interests. Pierre Arnaud has illustrated how foreign policies of governments were involved in international sporting events.

After World War I, some countries that were beaten or neutral were excluded from international competitions. It means that governments used sporting events as a part of their diplomacy. Referring to all these problems between sport and politics, international political crises, Arnaud asks some crucial questions: ‘Is one a citizen before being an athlete? Or is one an athlete before being a citizen?

Ought an athlete to be the ambassador of a new citizenship founded on internationalism and pacifism, and a propaganda agent for peace among the peoples?’ (1998, p.11). In 1920, some politicians suggested about the possibility to change the IOC (International Olympic Committee) into a part of the League of the Nations.

Football in Cameroon started between 1922 and 1923 in an undefined manner. Back then, football was only for entertainment purposes, it was recommended by the medical profession and it was especially destined for European colonists.

The colonists who were living in the city of Douala had the habit of organizing football match with sailors when these ones were on leave. That is how, little by little, aboriginal people began to study the rules of the game. The aboriginal people began to practice the game with “balls” they could create. This is how football activity and its institutionalization were implemented.

In 1930 the initiative was taken to professionalise football in Cameroon. We could then notice the following achievements: the first championship was held in Douala, then the establishment of rules and regulations followed the organisation of the first autonomous league, the establishment of a schedule of matches and licenses for players, the distinction of football clubs.

This initiative gradually became popular in major cities of Cameroon. The creation of teams was done based on quarters and tribes. The only financial resource was the membership fees paid by the football teams. The entrance in the stadiums was free and matches took place on lands of fortune (Betsi, 2011).

The Cameroon Athletic Federation was created in 1934 and was later renamed Federation Camerounaise Football (FECAFOOT) in 1959. In 2012, the Cameroonian football improved its organisation: the FECAFOOT was affiliated to the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) since 1962, member of the African Football Confederation (AFCON) since 1963. FECAFOOT organised several matches during seasonal Championships.

This brief historical reminder presents the genesis of football which is a sport activity in Cameroon. It states out to a certain extent the propensities of this activity which is to instill or amplify some values and practices from various angles.

The interest Cameroonian developed in football justifies the rapid implementation of this sport in the Cameroonian landscape. The outstanding performance of Cameroonian footballers during their second participation in the African Cup of Nations (ACN) in 1972 organized in Cameroon was the beginning of its influence on the international scene which was confirmed in 1990.

It was in Italy at the World Cup of Football that Cameroon became the first African country to reach the quarter-finals. In 1972 the national football team of Cameroon will be named “indomitable Lions”

This facilitated the spread of their fame and by extension that of the nation. After sleeping for ten years, it is during the Sydney Olympics Games in 2002 that the team won a gold medal, a second victory in the row at ACN and at the same time they were qualify for the 2002 World Cup. Cameroon was the first African country to reach the finals of the Cup of Confederations. All these successes made a great number of Cameroonian football fan.

The past decade has seen a dramatic growth in the research and practice of what is generally called, in its broadest label, sport for development and peace (SDP). The definitions of SDP are simple enough. SDP refers to ―the use of sport as a tool for development and peace (International Platform on Sport and Development, What is sport and development?).

Slightly more specific, SDP can be said to be  ―the intentional use of sport, physical activity, and play to attain specific development and peace objectives, most notably, the Millennium Development Goals,‖ which we will discuss shortly (SDP IWG, 2008, p. 3). Within these simple definitions, however, are embedded many questions about SDP‘s efficacy, its role, its methods, and its motives.

A variety of conditions have led to its growth in the past generation, and especially since the turn of the millennium. The rise of globalization, faster and more efficient communication structures, a more transparent flow of information, and the opening up of even the remotest regions, are common ―world-flattening‖ reasons that apply here, as they do in many fields of study and industries during this period of great transition.

Perhaps the greatest reason for SDP‘s rise – not separate from these other factors – is the growth of opportunities within the evolution of sport. As sport has gained unquestioned economic and social influence, and as our understanding of development has become more sophisticated to mean something more holistically human and not merely a dynamic linear process (Levermore & Beacom, 2009, p. 257), sport has also garnered more attention from scholars and policy-makers.

As sport has become increasingly more visible, “fans and athletes” views have diversified, or at least found more opportunities for those views to find common ground and momentum for change. Sport certainly has a long and ambivalent history of being tied into broader movements for social justice, human rights, and policy-making agendas around the world. In that sense, SDP is a new label on an old idea. However, the conditions that have led to the current growth are substantially different:

The current manifestation is different in the rapid explosion of agencies and organisations that are involved, the tremendous appeal that it has for youth volunteering, the financial support it enjoys from the powerful international sports federations and the extent to which it has been championed by the United Nations, its agencies and significant partners (Kidd, 2008).

The relationship between sport and politics is one of the most enduring and pervasive examples of society’s impact/influence on sport. Whilst there may still be some people who consider sport and politics to be completely separate entities, evidence suggests that it is no longer possible for any serious social commentator to posit a separation between the worlds of sport and politics.

As (Horne et al 1999) state, ‘sport (and play) involves rules and regulations which are derived in some way from the ‘real world’; sport provides politically usable resources; sport can promote nation-building and international image-making.

In fact, modern sport has seldom been free of politics’. In other words, there is very little current evidence to support the view that sport and politics exist separately; Allison posits the view that the idea of sport existing either ‘below or above politics’ is no longer sustainable.

State intervention in sport has been evidenced in many countries throughout history, such as the government of the city-states in ancient Greece used sport to enhance the fitness of their citizens for war and to demonstrate their superiority over other city-states and the early part of the Roman era, sport was used for military fitness; in the later years the ruling elites produced sport-like events to entertain and thereby control the masses.

Although the importance of sport has varied over time, the growth of nationalism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries revived the idea of using sport and games for promoting fitness and national integration (i.e., patriotism). Ostensibly, as (McPherson et al 1989) points out, ‘a main reason for reviving the Olympic Games in 1896 was to stimulate improved physical fitness among children’

The Games and other international sport events soon became mechanisms for propaganda and vicarious war [A term used by George Orwell meaning ‘a war minus the shooting’]; today, sport and politics are inextricably intertwined and often work to demonstrate social, economic, or political supremacy over another nation.

Regardless of the history of inclusion of sports in foreign policy, only in the last few years there is a noticeable trend among political scientist in tackling this portion of public diplomacy. The redirection of the focus toward sports diplomacy in research on international relations is an indication of, first, the increased relevance of public diplomacy in the modern globalized world and, second, the importance attached to sports as an alternative tool of foreign policy. As Murray (2011) notes, the collaboration between diplomacy and sports should not come as a surprise, given the representative character they share.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

A potential contribution of sport in resolution processes is that it provides a sub-systemic nucleus around which social networks can be formed and where members can be taught about resolving conflict.

Football for peace (F4P), an academic and grassroots initiative with ongoing sport for peace building and conflict transformation projects in the Middle East, has been bringing together for the last ten years Israeli and Arab children to play football together in non-threatening settings (Savir 2008, p.75).

F4P’s coaches use conflicts that may arise among participants, to introduce “teachable moments”, a space utilized to encourage children to learn how to solve disagreements in a constructive way (Lea –Howarth 2006, p.13).

Football has far outgone its traditional role of entertainment and recreation. Over the years, football has been greatly politicized and used to foster some sort of political agendum.

Football is no longer used to foster friendly relations with and among states, sports can also be used to pass across political messages or used as a symbol to demonstrate national strength and extreme nationalism.

Football is now used in building strong social relationships, maintaining peace and promoting social cohesion and mental health.

1.3 Research Questions

1. Who are the actors involved in using football for peacebuilding in Buea?
2. To what extent has football been used in achieving peace in Buea?
3. What are the challenges faced in using football in uniting people for peace in Buea?

1.4 Research Objectives

1. To identify the actors involved in using football for peacebuilding
2. To examine the extent to which football has been used in achieving peace
3. To assess the challenges faced in using football in uniting people for peace.

1.5 Research Hypothesis

H1: The actors include the players, the delegation and the different clubs

H2: Football has contributed greatly to peace building in Buea through the organization of inter quarter competitions.

H3: Football faces challenges such as lack of infrastructure which is also a product of poor planning and low budget.