African History 7.6 Soccer

democratic is because the equipment and playing areas are cheap enough for

everyone. No court, no rinks, no rackets, no clubs, no pads. All you need to play

soccer is four posts, a patch of dirt, and two to 22 people who are willing to beat

each other senseless fighting over an inflatable ball. Around the world, soccer [Crowd of football players run around.]

gets people going like no other sport. American football fans might get rowdy

at times, but many soccer stadiums have to physically separate fans to prevent

bloodshed from breaking out. But for such a violent sport, soccer has actually led to

peace. Take for example the Mozambican child soldiers who use soccer to help [Children with guns playing football.]

deal with PTSD... and that's just the start of the good soccer has brought to Africa.

In 1969, a soccer game including the legendary Pelé in Nigeria led to a

ceasefire with Igbo rebels. The rebels were like, "screw regional divisions, let's

go watch game." And, in 2005, peace was achieved in the Ivory Coast after an

emotional plea by their World Cup- contending soccer team. You know how [Ivory coast players release white doves from their hands.]

every sports movie has that moment where the team captain gives a big

inspirational speech and then the team miraculously does better? Well, in 2006, a

team captain of the Ivory Coast team gave that kind of speech to the whole

country, and it helped end a civil war. How is this not a movie yet? People [Men throw guns away and hug.]

at Disney, are you listening? Are you watching? Let's hope this video starts

a bidding war. Anyway, then there was the World Cup in South Africa in 2010. No,

it didn't stop a bunch of pointless bloodshed, but it did attract hordes of

tourists and investors, sparking a boom in development. Soccer also created a

sense of national pride in many African countries. Those few Americans who [Fan holds up Brazillian flag in stadium crowd.]

actually care about the game probably know that the USA got spanked by Ghana

in the last few World Cups. What they might not know is that this spanking was

the culmination of a half-century of socialist soccer

policy. Hardline socialists have always seen Ghanian soccer as a nonviolent way to

develop a sense of national unity and get Ghana out there on the world stage. [Ghana team cheer in the stadium tunnel.]

Well luckily, those World Cup players don't have stage fright. In a continent

still struggling with the horrors of the past and present, any good that comes

from just playing around with a ball is a miracle. We guess our gym teachers might

have been right about something: sports actually do matter. Though it felt a

little wrong when they made us run laps for being late. [Boy runs along athletic track.]