A Game for the Good?: Football, youths and the Liberian civil conflict

The Setting for conflict Africa's first republic was founded in the mid-19th century by recently freed American and Caribbean slaves originally stolen from Central and West Africa. This West African nation became fittingly known as Liberia or "Land of the Free". In 1847 the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Liberia written by Baptist Minister Hilary Teage was signed by representatives of the major counties, Liberia adopted a constitution based on the American model and until the 1980s was considered a beacon of stability in Africa. Shortly after this date the small West African nation was a global byword for atrocity, carnage and child soldier militias. The execution of President William Tolbert on the 12th April 1980 in a military coup d'etat fronted by Sergeant Samuel Doe and supported by the Peoples Redemption Council represented the end of the Americo-Liberian "settler" political dominance and reflected the indigenous people's desire for change. By the late 1980s Liberia was characterised by arbitrary ethnicity-based rule, the suppression of political opposition, economic collapse and sporadic civil conflict. In 1989 Charles Taylor entered the conflict via the USA and Libya and on the 24th of December brought war to Liberia for the next five years. In 1995 his National Patriotic Party was elected via democratic proceedings and Taylor assumed the position of President. The war was to continue until 2003 when a United Nations Justice Tribunal issued a warrant for Taylor's arrest. An estimated 250,000 Liberians were killed during the civil conflict between 1989 and 2003. The National Transitional Government of Liberia established temporary control from October 2003 until January 2006 and the UN ensured a military presence of some 15,000 personnel to establish and keep the peace. The country today remains in economic ruin and is one of the poorest countries in the world. In the new phase of peace, people both indigenous and from various representatives of the international community search for that which can bring people together. Peace of a sort has been sustained since August 2003. In 2005 Liberia participated in free and fair elections as recognised by international organisations. At this election Harvard educated Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf defeated the former World Footballer of the Year George Weah, becoming the first female President in Africa. 'Capacity building' and 'peace training' have become the preferred means of many international and local agencies attempting to build a better Liberia. This is not an easy task in a country without electricity, running water and adequate housing, with up to 80% unemployment, massive rates of illiteracy and millions of unskilled workers. These continuous barriers to sustainable progress are a direct result of a long and bloody civil war. Tens of thousands of children and youths are orphaned, displaced, uneducated, traumatised and stigmatised as 'ex child soldier'. All are in desperate need of education, guidance and support. Football For Peace? Since the turn of the millennium, the United Nations and a variety of NGOs have fostered sport as a method of assisting peacekeeping, security and development. The UN appointment of former Swiss President Adolf Ogi in 2001 as Under Secretary and Special Advisor to Secretary General on Sport for Development and Peace illustrated the UN's new direction. He proclaimed "sport's potential to improve physical and mental health that will help to heal emotional scars, and overcome trauma for people in situations of conflict, crisis or social tensions" (Ogi, 2003). The value of sport has long been recognised by a variety of educators, philosophers and humanitarian agencies. The notion that sport can provide an integral role to peace-building and wider social-cultural outcomes suggests new research questions. The majority of peace-building and rehabilitation sporting programmes are youth focused. The concept of youth however is not universally defined. …