Peacebuilding &conflict transformation A ... - Peaceworkafrica

Fair Play PointsIf rules are established, one has to stick to them or be sanctioned if they are violated.In today’s sports it is the referee who is in charge of this task. Fair play gives manypeople an opportunity to do the referee’s job; this alone is a step towards making agame more just.How do you make sure that the players stick to the rules they have establishedand agreed upon? There are several options, such as:▶ The rules are discussed before the game.▶ All players must agree to the rules of the game.▶ A checklist for observers has to be prepared and distributed to all.▶ All have to agree how the fair play points are given, for example:▷ if you violate a specific rule you are given minus point(s), the number ofpoints depends on the grade of violation and/or the specific rule,▷ if you stick to the rule you are given an agreed number of plus point(s),▷ a goal is counted with a specific number of plus points,▷ points are given for the overall attitude of the players/teams towards thegame: minus points for aggression and fouls, plus points for fair play.▶ Agree on who observes. For example have one person observeeach individual player – this could be the supporters of the team,the supporters of the opposing team or neutral persons;it could also be the referees. You could combine the tasks, for instance:the referees keep track of the fouls and add their points to thoseof the observers to calculate the overall result at the end.▶ The observers who filled in a checklist come together immediatelyafter the game and calculate the fair play points according to teams.▶ The winner is declared according to the highest number of fair playpoints. That means that the winner of the game is the one (or the team)that played most fairly. The goals scored are only part of the final resultand not the only criteria to be declared the winner.Let’s have a look at an example of fair play rules for football:Before the game▶ Decide that you are going to play fair and not intentionallyinjure anyone!▶ Exchange a few friendly words with your opponents and ask themtheir names!▶ Look forward to the game rather than the victory!▶ Form a circle and emphasize the following: We are a team and the othersare just sporting opponents!3 . R u l e s t o p l a y f a i r 239