LN – Play “with” and not “against”: How to promote a sport without violence?

Songs that invite to fight, shouts and excessive insults, riots in the stands, enmity between the players of rival teams, hyperexigence of the coaches and the fans; These are some examples that show how – be it verbal, physical or psychological – violence is inserted in the world of Argentine football.

Although many times we naturalize it or justify it under the concept of “passion”, the truth is that there is increasing awareness about what these types of attitudes generate and more proposals, such as “fair play”, to eradicate and punish them to those who promote them.

The nonprofit association

Together we go for more

stumbled upon violence in football since its origins, in 2010.

He was born among friends and families with the aim of improving the quality of life of children in vulnerable situations through sport: they attend more than 1000 boys between 6 and 14 who play football in the neighborhoods of La Cava, Boulogne and José León Suárez and in the vulnerable areas of Rosario and San Nicolás. The organization accompanies them in an integral way, promoting fair play and coordinating activities of a sports, educational and cultural nature.

Six years ago, members of the association began to rethink some violent attitudes they witnessed in the various football clubs they attend and decided to get down to work: they created the program

For a Sport without Violence, together with professional players and psychologists to transmit to the boys, through talks and training, the value of the game and the fun taking out the content of frustration and demand.

“We communicate the emotional importance of the child, happiness and its psychic construction. In the awareness talks we emphasize that the rival is not an enemy and we say play ‘with’ instead of ‘against’,” explains Silvia Tallarico, psychologist and Founder of Together Let’s Go For More.

Reeducating values

Santiago Ladino (39), a former footballer noted for his role as a defender in the Vélez Sarsfield club, was never expelled from a game.

Although he suffered the pressures of the sport in his own flesh, he never gave in to violence and today he is one of the players who collaborates with Juntos Vamos por Más to transmit the values ​​of fair play. Participate in the annual talks of the program For a Sport without Violence and in the solidarity parties that take place at the beginning, the middle and the end of the year: “We tell you about our personal experiences and try to show you that it is not necessary to be aggressive to win”, Ladino account.

Remember that throughout his career as a footballer, he felt affected by the abuse on and off the court. However, he says that he “got emotionally blind” so that they will not affect him and although he always intended to raise awareness about the toxicity of the environment, he felt that there was no place for it and could only do so four years ago, when he joined the foundation:

“To talk about these issues was to put you in a situation of vulnerability. Today people are waking up and questioning the messages they receive from their surroundings. We understand the violent nature of the songs, the demand in the clubs and the enmity with the rival, no longer we identify it only with the bars

“For that reason, now take the opportunity to make visible another type of sport, less competitive and more fun:” We advise the boys to live honestly and not to step on the other’s head to win. ”

The Together Together for More Foundation organizes the annual talks of the program For a Sport without Violence, where professional players and psychologists transmit to the boys the values ​​of fair play, taking out the content of frustration and demand.

Gonzalo Prosperi (34), defender of San Martín de San Juan, is also part of Juntos Vamos por Más and considers that the bulk of violence in football comes from the rostrum

: “Unfortunately, the players are used to insults and to demand us to win constantly. Today, aggressive comments are already unnoticed,” he says. He even believes that, many times, the greatest pressure may come from the family and close friends of the players: “When I was 12 years old, my dad ignored the presence of the coach and spent the entire game shouting at me how to play.

There came a time when I got fed up and asked the judge to kick him out of the field, “he recalls.

. Beyond the fact that the story is now laughing, he recognizes that children who train since they are little are treated as adults and that they must have a “trained personality” to tolerate certain attitudes.

That is why Gonzalo chooses today that his young son plays ball in a school and not in a club, where the requirement is usually greater: “The main thing is that he enjoys. When he asks me how he played, I do not criticize him and instead I tell him to think about how he felt on the court, “he says.

One of the main tips that the defender of San Martín de San Juan gives to the boys of the foundation is that they “enjoy each stage in football” and that, when they go to train, they do it in the same way as when they go to the school: “That they are constant and responsible”.

He also tries to explain that passion manifests itself through “predisposition, respect and commitment.”

make difference

Agustín “Pity” Cardozo (22) walks through the streets of the La Cava neighborhood in Beccar, where he lived all his life, and the boys stare at him. In an attempt to go unnoticed, he keeps his head down and, if approached, drops a joke and surprises them with a racket: “I feel one more,” he says.

But is not.

At age 4 he started playing football at the San Martín A Beccar neighborhood club; at 10 he passed to the rival, San Isidro Juniors and at 12 he started at the Tigre Athletic Club.

Today, after ten years since joining, he plays professionally in the club’s first division as a midfielder.

In La Cava he became a reference for his history of overcoming, but also for his active role in Together Let’s Go for More.

The “Pity” recognizes that the work of the foundation directed by Silvia Tallarico “made a difference” at the San Martín A Beccar club, where he began his career so many years ago

: “When I was a kid, the parents in the gallery were fighting each other or with the referee. The atmosphere was rough. But now, in my last visits I noticed that he is calmer. It is important to instill in the parents and technicians that it is a game to learn and grow, “he observes. In addition, he values ​​the work of Together Let’s Go For More when it comes to education. “We try to understand how fundamental it is to stay in school, because they will open opportunities for a lifetime,” concludes Agustín.

Agustín “Pity” Cardozo began his career as a footballer in the San Martín A Beccar club and now, at 22, plays in the first of the Tigre Athletic Club as a midfielder. In La Cava it is a reference for its history of overcoming.

The tips for parents of the Together Together Let’s Go For More Foundation to promote a sport without violence:

• Don’t yell at me in public,

  control your emotions
  
  .

• Have fun with my game
  
  . With your support I am happy.
• Don’t yell at the coach or the referee
  
  .
• Don’t talk bad about my classmates
  
  .
• Remember that they are rivals and

  no enemies
  
  .

• We win or lose,

  let’s say hello to the opponent
  
  . Let’s share a third time.

• Respect coach decisions
  
  .
• Matches are played and won

  on the pitch
  
  .

• Don’t give me lessons after the game:

  Ask me how I had it, not if I won or how many goals I did.
  

How to collaborate

The Juntos Vamos Foundation for More sponsors neighborhood clubs in La Cava, Boulogne, José León Suárez, Rosario and San Nicolás. At present,

They need booties in good condition to provide the more than 1000 boys who attend every day and financial help to continue their educational, cultural and sports activities.

To collaborate, write to: [email protected].

Current Account in pesos No. 34568471007. Branch: 0010 Banco Itaú / C.B.U. 2590010310345684710072.

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