The World Cup: A FAIR
GAME?
CITIZENSHIP & PSHE THEME
TAKING ACTION
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FOOTBALLERS TAKE FAIR ACTION
Sócrates is one of the most famous and finest Brazilian footballers of all time. He
played in two World Cup tournaments, in 1982 where he was captain and in
1986.
While he was playing football in Brazil the country was under dictatorship – it
had a government that was not freely elected and people did not have a say in
how their country was run. The military controlled the people for over twenty
years. This made life difficult for the people of Brazil and many felt frustrated with
the lack of choices they had. Football clubs were also less free to manage their
clubs how they wanted to.
Sócrates and his teammates decided to begin to
introduce democracy to their team – they began to vote
on matters that were important to them. This got him a lot
of attention! The footballer also used his fame to support
the people of his country.
He and his teammates wore the word “democracy” on the back of their T-shirts. In
1982 Sócrates and his teammates wore shirts that said “Vote on the 15th”,
encouraging their fans to vote for democracy in their country, which they did!
Sócrates’ most famous quote was:
"Win or lose, but always with democracy.“
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FOOTBALLERS TAKE FAIR ACTION
Didier Drogba is a star player for the Ivory Coast. He played in their first ever World
Cup appearance in 2006, was the team captain in 2010 and is set to return for the
2014 competition.
When the Ivory Coast qualified for the World Cup in 2006, the
country had been in civil war, a battle between the government
and rebels, for five years. Hating what was happening to his
country, Drogba decided to use his fame to help bring peace.
Surrounded by his teammates in his dressing room, Drogba
took a microphone and spoke on national television. He asked
for the fighting to stop and almost immediately the Ivory Coast
began a cease fire, where all opponents put down their
weapons and stopped attacking one another. Leaders from
both parties stood together to sing the national anthem of the
Ivory Coast at the 2006 World Cup.
Drogba is known as a player who puts his ‘best foot forward.’
Click to read more about Drogba
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FOOTBALL AND FAIRNESS
Both Socrates and Drogba took action when
they were faced with unfairness.
•What does it mean to ‘take action’?
•Why is it important?
•Did they do it alone?
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People who took action to make the
world fairer
OTHER PEOPLE TAKE FAIR ACTION
These people were not well known when
they started taking action.
Find out what actions they took and how
they worked with others to influence change.
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MAKING THE WORLD FAIRER
What have you learnt about making the
world fairer?
Do people change things by themselves?
How is taking action important?
Who do you know who has taken action for
fairness?
How could you take action?
What would you ask for, and why?
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CALENDAR OF ACTION
Have a look
at some
things you
can get
involved with
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/global-citizenship/promoting-action/calendar-of-action
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