Soccer: Facilitating Communication

Soccer is a global phenomenon that is played, watched, and enjoyed all over the world. Players and fans are quick to point out that soccer is an international language that unites people of all ethnicities and backgrounds together. However, there has been little research done to find out why, how, or if this is true. In this paper I will demonstrate how soccer is an effective means of communication when barriers of culture, geography, and language exist. To do this I conducted a survey, ultimately across 147 regular soccer players, and took field notes on one on one conversations to gather experiences and opinions regarding how soccer has helped people connect when other means of communication were not viable. By surveying and speaking with regular players, I was able to determine just how effective and in what ways soccer facilitates communication and brings people together. This research is a viable starting point into exploring how a global society can learn from soccer players to break down communication barriers and cooperate better with one another.