For some of us, sport is intrinsically enjoyable - to play as well as to watch. The Government's approach is more instrumental: does this activity keep young people off the streets, and discourage obesity? Does association with sporting celebrities sprinkle a little magic dust on mundane policies?
Sportspeople themselves, along with miscellaneous youth organisations, are keen to emphasise all its supposed character-building benefits - teamwork, perseverance, being a good loser and so on. We need to encourage more young people to play sport of all kinds. But we should be cautious about over-claiming its moral benefits and holding up its stars as role models.
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