Social sustainability is a concept according to which activities of businesses and non-profit organizations are directly connected with the development of a community. One of the approaches that are followed by different organizations is to support the community and appreciate the activities of leaders in the provision of social awards or prizes. The development of sports events is traditionally discussed as one of the means used by organizations to address the needs of a community, and much attention is paid to the role of football in realizing the principles of social sustainability (Rydin, Seymour, & Lorimer, 2012). From this point, the practice of providing social awards to persons who have contributed to the development of football in different countries can be discussed as important to support the idea of social sustainability with the focus on a community.
It is possible to speak about the realization of the principles of social sustainability in the context of honoring football players, coaches, and managers among other stakeholders. The reason is that it is important to draw the people’s attention to appreciating persons who have contributed to the development of communities in the 1960s. During this period, football played an important role in forming a community in the Western world. For instance, in the 1960s, much attention was paid to the World Cup of 1966, when the British team defeated the German team (The day England won the World Cup, 2012). It is necessary to note that, in both countries, football players are honored and appreciated following the traditions of the 1960s, and corporations organize football competitions among juniors to contribute to the community’s development.
A similar situation is observed in the United States where the 1960s became the period of developing the American variant of the football game. The 1960s became the period of the National Football Leagues and the American Football League’s growth. In 1967, the first Super Bowl was held, and the main players in that game were Bryan Starr, Dave Robinson, and Herbert Adderley (Maga, 2014; Metcalfe, 2013). Today, when corporations organize football matches in the context of their social sustainability plans, they refer to these persons and their contribution to the development of society. Furthermore, organizations and foundations choose to appreciate other significant persons who contributed to the progress of the American football movement not only in the 1960s but also later.
From this point, it is important to answer the following question: how can social prizes and awards provided in the context of the football movement contribute to the development of social sustainability in communities? The next point to address is how the focus on persons who contributed to the development of sports in the 1960s can add to the communities’ progress today. In the European countries, famous football players and coaches are persons who are awarded national and social rewards and prizes, and they work a lot to develop communities, build stadiums and sports fields, as well as organize training for children (Taks, 2013). A similar situation is observed in Latin American countries where the traditional variant of football is extremely popular, and it is promoted widely. As a result, sports services for children in these countries are mostly organized by persons related to the development of the football movement (Guilianotti, 2013). Thus, the prominent football players from such countries as Spain, Brazil, and Argentina among others play a key role in developing society, and this tradition is known since the 1960s.
While referring to the context of the United States, it is important to note that social prizes for those persons who added to the development of the National Football League and the American Football League in the 1960s are used to accentuate what was done by these individuals. Annually, the players of these leagues are awarded the National Football League Most Valuable PlayerAward and the Footballer of the Year. In addition to these professional awards, football players became well-known in certain communities because of social awards provided for contributing to the community’s growth and development, including prizes for promoting diversity, sports, and a healthy lifestyle (Maga, 2014). For instance, Vincent Lombardi, the coach, and executive of the National Football League in the 1960s, was elected to be represented in several halls of fame in the country. Bryan Starr, the famous quarterback of the National Football League in the 1960s, was also inducted into several halls of fame (Maga, 2014). The examples of these persons seem to attract the young generation’s attention to football. As a result, it is possible to speak about the positive impact of these figures on the development of communities.
Social awards can be discussed as an effective way to appreciate the contribution of people who work to develop communities. The sports sector is very important in this context because sports activities promoted in different countries lead to improving the public’s health and well-being. From this perspective, much attention should be paid to football because this game influence the development of society in many countries, and the unique social impact of football was observed in the 1960s when millions of people began to follow football players and coaches as roles models in Europe and the United States. Therefore, today, the focus on social prizes and the appreciation of famous footballers guarantees that the young generation will refer to these role models in the future while contributing to social progress.
References
- Guilianotti, R. (2013). Football, violence and social identity. London, UK: Routledge.
- Maga, T. (2014). The 1960s. New York, NY: Infobase Publishing.
- Metcalfe, N. (2013). Football’s golden years: Sixties special – from Georgie to El Tel, Pele to Paul McCartney… and even Alf Garnett too. The Daily Mail.
- Rydin, Y., Seymour, R., & Lorimer, S. (2012). Sustainability in the sports sector. London, UK: UCL Environment Institute.
- Taks, M. (2013). Social sustainability of non-mega sport events in a global world. European Journal for Sport and Society, 10(2), 121-128.
- The day England won the World Cup. (2012). Web.