Part 4. Recommendations

Part 4

Recommendations

Based on the conclusions of the research conducted during the stateof-the-art phase and the numerous exchanges made during the project, the partners of the MATCH-SPORT consortium have identified the following recommendations that we address to local authorities and sports clubs. These guidelines inform all the actions implemented through the project and have been updated with its findings and developments. Competition is inherent to sport. Nevertheless, the idea that competition leads to violence is a stereotype. We need to think about how to reduce violence in sport in a society that considers winning as the sole reward and a way of defining ourselves as individuals or groups. It is only through holistic and crosscutting work that we will succeed in fighting violence and discrimination in amateur sport. It is necessary to work simultaneously on several lines, such as education and respect for friends and referees, and adapt the rules to allow for greater inclusion. Amateur sport has a positive impact on social cohesion and a lasting effect on the prevention of violence. In this sense, we recommend encouraging the creation of sports clubs or promoting the practice of sports in sensitive urban areas by organising community activities with professional clubs, with the aim of attracting young players. In order to avoid violent incidents between spectators and players, we can act and disseminate a culture of responsibility among the general public through communication campaigns. Such actions can be adapted or strengthened to tackle specific issues and respond to local challenges. It is essential that local authorities assume their role in coordinating the preventive work carried out at the local level, not only by municipal services but also by sports clubs and associations, among other stakeholders. Indeed, they are particularly well placed to monitor incidents and collect any relevant information that may help to adapt the local policy and consequent actions.

Local and regional authorities should provide financial support to clubs, in particular those located in ‘difficult’ neighbourhoods, and ensure that sports projects include an educational dimension. Even at the local level, federations are key players in the prevention of violent incidents. They have the means to set up prevention measures and the power to sanction clubs and their members. The role of the referee as an educator must be reinforced. Professional training courses for referees should include this dimension. In order to facilitate access to sports for all, the rules can be adapted on an ad hoc basis, for example to enable people with disabilities to take part or to balance gender participation, depending on each club and on the specific needs of their practitioners. The idea here is not to change the rules for all (which would render the sport less enjoyable for the other practitioners), but rather to adapt them on a caseby-case basis. We encourage sports associations and clubs to adopt common measures, such as introducing a penalty rule for bad behaviour in the club regulations. It is also important to involve parents in such decisions in order to legitimise them. Having a common ground regarding principles and values is essential in order to be able to differentiate between good and bad behaviours. Communication and reaching out are key. Conflicts provoked by parents and families are often caused by their intense emotional involvement in their child’s competition: they project their aspirations, anger or frustration on their offspring. The problem is that it is socially accepted for parents to lose their self-control in these situations and that it is difficult to reprimand them. We therefore have to reach out to parents if we want to change their behaviour, and convince them of the merits of refraining from any kind of abusive behaviour. Permanent banning solutions are another tool to be considered when some parents refuse to change their behaviour. However, such measures should be used with caution because they might have adverse consequences for the club.