Football s consolidation as the world s most popular sport is the result of both the inherent
attributes of the game that is its simplicity and universality as well as the historical
processes that have contributed to the expansion of this sport throughout time. Although the
game has undergone very little structural transformation in the last decades one of most
notable developments in the world of football has taken place in the new application of the
sport as a tool for social change. This has generated a true global social movement
encompassing a multitude of actors such as national governments the private sector
international organizations and NGOs around the issue of development and peace through sport.
With this background the purpose of this book is two-fold: 1) Provide an overview of the
history evolution and global expansion of football 2) bring to light the recent
transformation experienced by the game as a social movement and as an agent of community
change. This part includes the grassroots project Goals for Peace in Colombia and the
Philippines which aims at assessing the ways and extent to which this sport can be a
transformative tool.
