Europe: A Cultural and Sporting Giant - Essay Sample

Introduction

Europe is a renown giant in the world of sports; arguably, some of the best rugby and football clubs on earth are based in the continent. Europe has a diverse culture since it is made up of different nations, each with its cultural practices, traditions, and local language. The official languages in the continent are German, French, Italian, English, Russian, Turkish, Romanian, Greek Swedish, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin (Marian, n.d.). According to the World Atlas, the most popular religion in Europe is Christianity; however, a significant number of citizens do not practice the faith. Most countries in Europe are united by an economic and political block, the European Union. According to the Union's official website, European nations have natural, cultural elements and sites such as museums, artworks, archeological sites, historic cities, musical, and literary works. The European Union promotes talent and encourages young people in the region to participate in sports activities. The EU Sports federation holds various sports tournaments annually, such as the European Sports Weak (European Commission, 2019). Although Europe is already active in sports, the Ministry of Sports can maximize its efforts in injury reduction, elimination of racism, and tax regulation. This essay discusses the current state of sports in Europe, and the areas that need significant improvements.

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This essay has selected European Union as an area of study since it has a vast number of races, which participate in competitive sports both locally, and globally. Hence, each nation has its national teams, and renown clubs, which take part in European competitions. For instance, England has Liverpool, and Manchester football clubs, and Italy has Juventus, Atlanta, and Roma (Football Database, 2019). The teams are highly followed internationally; therefore, Europe can be described as one of the global role models in the sports world.

According to a research article by Aman, Forssblad, and HenrikssonLarsen (2016), sports such as football, ice hockey, floorball, and handball expose players to a high risk of injuries. The researchers noted that the most upper cases of injuries resulting in permanent medical impairment (PMI) were in sports such as ice hockey, skating, and automobile racing. However, according to the research, female players are at higher risk of sustaining injuries during sports, than their male counterparts. According to Whyte (2019), more than $16 billion is used annually to treat injuries in sports. Whyte pointed out that in the 2016/17 season of English Premier League, 20,576 days were lost to injuries, which represented a total bill of PS131,314,980 for the injured players. Therefore, advancements in sports science can be the solution needed to minimize injuries for players.

According to an article by Observer Sports (2018), racism in sports among European nations is still in existence, despite the laws put into eliminating it. In Belgium, racism was noted among fans, not only in football but also other sports; in May 2018, 29 fans in the country were arrested for verbally abusing black players and carrying racist banners. Similar cases of racism against black and Islam players were noted in Bosnia and Bulgaria; in 2014, a Bulgarian football club was fined after one of its supporters was spotted carrying a banner supporting racism (Observer Sports, 2018). The article also pointed out that in 2018 World Cup finals, a former Croatian football coach criticized the French team since most of its players had an African descent. Observer Sports also wrote that some players quit playing for their clubs in German, due to racist comments. Therefore, the problem cannot be ignored in Europe, and it requires further intervention by the Ministry of Sports.

Arguably, the tax rates on foreign players (especially in football) in Europe are unfavorable for most of them. According to a study by Kleven, Landais, and Saez (2019), nations such as Germany, Greece, the UK, and Switzerland have tax rates on foreign talents are higher than the rates meant to maximize revenue. However, the study found out that other 14 European nations have favorably lower tax rates, and most professional players tend to relocate to these areas. Therefore, there is a need for tax reforms in Europe to ensure equality for all players, despite their nationality, or the country they play for in Europe.

The ministry of sports should increase its support for sports injury prevention programs. According to Mugele, Plummer, Steffen, Stoll, Mayer, and Muller, the plans are effective; however, most couches and players are reluctant to participate. Therefore, efforts by the ministry to increase awareness on the importance of the program can be fruitful. In my opinion, racism in sports can be minimized in Europe by enforcing the existing rules and establishing new laws to promote racial equality. Similarly, the Sports Ministry can intervene to make the judiciary initiate tax reforms that favor foreign players.

According to Goodwin (2012), the Ministry of Sports encourages and supports young people to participate in sports activities, and also bids for major sports events. Also, the ministry is responsible for promoting sports in learning institutions and using games as a tool to promote unity. I believe that through the sports industry, the ministry can promote positive local and foreign culture, and appreciate diversity to minimize racism hence improving integration in the continent.

Currently, sports are highly practiced in Europe; the continent has renown football and rugby clubs globally; however, several improvements can be made to minimize sports injuries, eliminate racism, and to introduce tax reforms for foreign professional players. Since the risk of injuries is high in sports, it can be minimized by encouraging players to participate in injury prevention programs. On the other hand, high taxation and racism on foreign players can be minimized through legislation. The ministry of sports is important in Europe since it promotes participation in games and national sports events.

References

Aman, M., Forssblad, M., & HenrikssonLarsen, K. (2016). Incidence and severity of reported acute sports injuries in 35 sports using insurance registry data. Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports, 26(4), 451-462. https://doi.org/10.1111/sms.12462

European Commission. (2019). European Weak of Sports 2019. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/sport/week_en

Football Database. (2019, June 9). Europe Football / Soccer Clubs Ranking. Retrieved from https://footballdatabase.com/ranking/europe/1

Goodwin, M. (2012, April 4). What Role for the Ministry of Sports? Retrieved from http://nottspolitics.org/2012/04/04/what-role-for-the-minister-of-sport/

Kleven, H., Landais, C., & Saez, E. (2019, July 3). Taxes and the International Migration of Superstars. The National Bureau of Economic Research. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/

Marian, J. (n.d.). Official Languages of European Countries. Retrieved from https://jakubmarian.com/official-languages-of-european-countries/

Mugele, H., Plummer, A., Steffen, K., Stoll, J., Mayer, F., & Muller, J. (2018). General versus sports-specific injury prevention programs in athletes: A systematic review of the effect on injury rates. PloS one, 13(10), e0205635. https://dx.doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0205635

Observer Sports. (2019, February 14). The ugly spectre of racism in football on the rise across Europe. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/dec/16/racism-on-the-rise-across-europe-football-raheem-sterling-chelsea

Whyte, E. (2019, May 16). Injuries Cost More than Medals. Retrieved from https://metrifit.com/blog/injuries-cost-much-more-than-medals/