The Importance of Sport

When talking about the importance of Sports, one can think physical and mental health it provides to the participants. It is obvious to perceive it in such lenses. Beside the above mentionned benefits, I am focusing on the Social, Political and Economical benefits an individual at the smaller scale and at the larger scale a Nation can gain.
Socialy speaking, an Australian study reports that Sport practice by children help them build their self-esteem and self-confidence. A child who scores a goal during a Soccer game can feel a sense of achievement that can ignite him to work hard in class in order to further the same feeling in other fields of his life. It has been  proven that, kids who feel socially unaccepted by their peers can feel accepted when they join a team and are given a role to play for the success of the group. This experience can change the social perception the kid has and his role in regard to his environment for the good.
We all know that Sport has been always a theme of conversation in a variety of settings where people gather. During this conversation, rivalry tend to decline or extinct when two or more ennemies talk about their favourite team and especially when this team has won the game. At larger scale, Sports has reunited a Nation long divided by civil wars or tribalism. Who does not recall Germans reunited from West to East, when their Soccer team composed of the players from both areas came out as ONE Nation to win the 1990 World Cup in Italy. This victory has consolidated the unification of both former rivals.
 Economically speaking, we all know that Sports provide a huge revenue to its participants. For example, Forbes Magazine who is known to rank the World famous wealthiest people reported in 2009 that, the top 20 of the World highest earners athletes make overall no more than $789 million thus an average individual earning of $39.45 million; which is enough to feed a whole lot of starving individuals in the World. At the larger scale, Sports Industries are a boost to a Nation's economy. For example, a study conducted in England by the Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University reported  $25.865.841.508 as an annual Sport's economic contribution to England. Other findings are that, the Sports related jobs has numbered 441,000 and over 3/4 of these are in private sector, and not to mention that the Consumers' spendings on Sports was $26,976.9 in 2008. These figures show the huge impact of Sports in the economy of  a Nation being England or other.
Politically speaking, many governments have use Sports to promote their agenda to curb anykind of political rivalries, or to unify a divided Nation. The legendary and former South African President, Nelson Mandela has used the South African Rugby team to curb the rivalry between Blacks and Whites and the Sports each loves. As portrays in the movie "Invictus" Nelson Mandela has encouraged the Spring Box(SA National Rugby team) to have game exhibition in the townships so that Blacks will play with  Whites (who made 99% of the team at that time). This exhibition was braodcasted all over South Africa (SA). And it was meant to bring together two Races (Whites and Blacks) and Sports(Rugby and Soccer) who have been in opposition during the Apartheid era. This is a proof that with Sports, a mountain of rivalries and problems can be lifted without any cost. An unknown author has said that Sports is a costless and peacefull manner to fight a war between Nations or two teams. Because with the money spent to buy arms and tanks during war, Nations are using it for the development of Sports thus the well being of its Citizen.
Sports has many benefits that we have to consolidate by making sure that any one is practicing the discipline that fit him. We also have to secure the protection the participants from injury so that we will not witness some dirty tackles seen in Soccer or bloody faces in Box, etc.