Hooliganism in sports is a reflection of the prevalence of violence in every sphere of human life. There is no denying that violence is everywhere today. Players often take pride in damage they can do during sports competitions.
Fostering goodwill and friendship, which should be the objective of sports, is often forgotten during competitions, lately sports have become a fierce competition.
Almost, did I just said almost? All sports practiced today are highly competitive. People and teams play with the sole objective of winning. The teams are ready to do everything to win.
There are many factors responsible for hooliganism in sports. Pride and prestige have contributed greatly to the prevalence of hooliganism in sports. Most of the violence during competitions is started by teams afraid of defeat.
Poor officiating is one cause of hooliganism in sports. Some sports officials have been known to engage in questionable officiating after having their palms greased by one of the teams.
The victims of this type of injustice, will out of frustration resort to violence. Drug also has contributed to hooliganism in sports. Fans, spectators, and sportsmen take drugs and alcohol before and during sports competitions.
And this makes them to be very short-tempered and susceptible to violence at the slightest provocation, it may be real or imaginary. Sports hooliganism can be reduced by proper enlightenment through electronic and print media.
The authorities responsible for organizing sports competitions should also ensure fair officiating as means of reducing hooliganism in sports. Also provision of adequate security at the venue of sports competitions.
The authorities can go a step forward by carrying adequate drug and alcohol test on athletes and spectators before sports competitions, by doing all these I strongly believe hooliganism in sports can be reduced to a tolerable level.