The Role Of FIFA And CAF In Using Football To Promote Peace In Africa

ABSTRACT The use of sports for the purposes of peace and development is currently becoming a growing phenomenon. In Africa, sports, especially football, was employed by freedom fighters as part of the several struggle mechanisms, to achieve independence, fight racism and promote national unity. As football in today’s world is deemed popular, simple to play and above all capable of moving outside the pitch to impact lives and serve as a unifying activity, the study seeks to look out for what FIFA and CAF have done and are doing to promote peace, using the game. FIFA is the world’s governing body of football and CAF is the game’s administrative body in Africa. The study, relying on the qualitative method of data collection via interviews and information from secondary sources, utilizes Galtung’s ‘3Rs’ theory of peace and violence as the theoretical framework through which the body of the work is viewed. Galtung’s ‘3Rs’ stands for Reconstruction, Reconciliation and Resolution. The extent to which football fosters peace and the role FIFA and CAF have played in this venture is analyzed. The study, among others, reveal that football has the power to break tensions of incompatibilities among societies and individuals but must carefully be handled as it also has the capability of worsening situations sometimes. Also, it reveals that CAF and FIFA have immensely contributed to the peace project in Africa through tournaments, collaborations with other organizations and donations. The study establishes that, FIFA and CAF have amongst the ‘3Rs’ of Galtung’s idea of Peace, engaged in Reconstruction and Reconciliation much more than Resolution as far as their peace initiatives on the continent are concerned. The study recommends that FIFA and CAF put in place monitoring mechanisms and expand their commitments toward peace building projects on the continent. It also recommends to these bodies to expand the spectrum of fighting racism to include the concerns of other minorities in society like the Fulanis and Albinos in Africa. It is recommended that, the field of peace and sports be included in the educational programs of Colleges and Universities to help create experts and popularity of the role sports, especially football play, as an effective tool in helping to promote peace.