A future inspired by the values of sports

“Proposals for a better restart” was the theme of the concluding session in a webinar series on sports held by the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life. This webinar was focused on the fundamental role sports can play in the societal restart necessitated by the pandemic.

The need to think about tomorrow in accord with new interpretive outlines prompts us to reformulate the vision and role of sports in society. With this in mind, it would be necessary “Not to kill or reduce the system of sports, but change its scale of values,” according to Daniele Pasquini, president of the John Paul II Foundation for Sport. “We need a new vision that allows sports to be non-resilient but anti-fragile, allowing it to find a new guiding rule in the next social system.”

Ivo Ferriani, highlighted the importance of sports as a social value which can help the new generations to reflect on what is essential. “We had it all, and now we must get back to the basic essence. We need to focus on what is really fundamental,” says the former bobsledder and member of the International Olympic Committee.

Sports are seen by Renata Simril, President of the LA84 Foundation, as a powerful vehicle for change, for the individual as well as for society. That is, it is a tool to help others, imbuing within them a sense of the need for a renewal inspired by the values of sports. “This is the time to act as Pope Francis invites us to do: live as you play and, in the meantime, inspire your neighbors and communities to do the same.”

Celestino Chichongue, a trainer of Futval in a difficult reality such as that of Chicomo, underscores the enormous potential of sports as a bearer of fundamental values in which the new generations can recognize themselves and from which they can draw the strength to change their lives.

Jaime Fillol, a former tennis player, spoke of the ability of sports to form “networks,” while stressing the need to defend the social value of sports against individualism and rampant materialism. “For this to be sustainable over time, we need to generate networks with institutions (both private and public), with the government, schools, local communities, universities, and sports clubs—all with a common message, a message of social responsibility and integral education.”