SOCCER, MORE THAN A GAME

Watching 22 men kick and chase a small round leather seems a bit crazy yet lovers of the sport can’t afford to miss the opportunity to witness exciting surging wingers, overlapping backs, curling corners, slick inter positional passing and classic goals scored with panache which tells all about the fervour that comes with it. Undoubtedly, the most popular game on earth carries many passionate hearts and can make one a hero or a villain in the eyes of its many followers. The love for it makes entire nations walk off job and at times wake up at odd hours to watch men kick it. “Soccer” it is called, “Football” some prefer it to be, “Le Ballon” but the “Beautiful Game” I will describe it.
The Origin
Just as having different names from deferent roots, so are many views on it`s origination. The Han Dynasty of ancient China, The Japanese ,The Greek, The Romans, Egypt and The English can`t be left without mentioning when tracing it`s origination. Going through several transformations, different cultures had engaged in sports similar to the modern game soccer but no one can really state with certainty when or where soccer began though it is known that the earlier variations of what later became soccer were played almost 3000 years ago.
The Romans is believed played a game that somewhat resembled modern soccer. The early Olympic Games in Rome featured twenty-seven men on a side who completed so vigorously that two-thirds of them had to be hospitalized after a half way through the game.
History also has it that the early beginning of this my favourite game suffered a major setback in England in the early years. In King Edward's reign between 1307-1327’ laws were passed that threatened imprisonment to anyone caught playing soccer.:" For as much as there is a great noise in the city caused by hustling over large balls, from which many evils may arise, which God forbid, we command and forbid on behalf of the King, on pain of imprisonment, such game to be used in the city future." King Edward's proclamation said.
Evidently judged to be vulgar and indecent, soccer was at times suppressed by English sheriffs who followed royal orders describing the game as a useless practice. King Henry IV and Henry VIII passed laws against the sport, and Queen Elizabeth I "had soccer players jailed for a week, with follow-up church penance". Perhaps what the royal family forgot was that even the most descents of jobs in the world had their own hazards.
For the passion of the game, laws failed to stop the sport, which earned official sanction in England by 1681. The game became so popular by 1800s that, even annual contests in northern and middle England could not go on without it and since then it has become so popular in every part of the world to the extent that today including my dear Ghana, soccer has arguably become the most watched and played sport enjoyed by millions of people. The past FIFA World Cups, that had taken place from the 1990`s were watched by an estimated 2 billion people around the globe through broadcasting. This makes soccer, the most watched single sports event in the world not surpassed even by the Olympics.
Popularity
Soccer's worldwide popularity can also be attributed to the fact that millions of people depend on the game for their economic survival. With over 20 million servants in the form of administrators,officials,agents, scouts, commentators,players, commissioners, managers, coaches and betting syndicates ,without doubt if there is any sport that generates huge revenue and engages a large number of human resource than any other sport, then it certainly should be 'the beautiful game'.
Villains and Heroes
It might be seen as just a game however, heroes and villains are made out of it. Imagine the honour that comes with been triumphant in a World Cup final or better still scoring a winning goal on the stroke of injury time in a cagey encounter of a final match. The arousing welcome on return at airports may even come as a second fiddle to the honouring of a national medal or accolade. Legends like Brazil’s Edison Aranates Donacimento, best known in all quarters as “the world Pele” and Argentina’s Diego Armando Maradona bearer of “the hand of God” never won world wars for their respective countries but just by been players of the round leather, they were idolised and worshiped till date. Likewise, several names like Alfredo De Stefano, Puskas, Mitchell Platini, Zico, Johan Cruff, George Oppong Weah, Roger Miller, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and our own quartet of Tony Yeboah, Abedi Ayew Pele, Stephen Appiah and Michael Essien are now extraordinary household names due to their exploits in the game of soccer.

Again just as a coin is two sided and a thin line between love and hate, Escobar, an ex Columbian international became a villain and was shot dead after a match in which he had scored an own goal. How can a mere game make and unmake people?
Ex English Goalies, David Seaman and David James despite their splendid performances for “The Three Lions” became public enemies in the course of their illustrious carrier. The former nearly became an outcast after conceding what connoisseurs and critics of the game called “a cheap and silly goal’’ in a titanic quarter final encounter with Brazil at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The latter also had his name changed to “Disaster James”. Why? He was committing series of goalkeeping errors that nearly marred England`s qualification to the Germany 2006 World Cup. A former Liberty Professional FC and Ghanaian Black Stars Player, Patrick Antwi will also be remembered for all the wrong reasons after gifting a goal to Mexico on his debut as a goalie for Ghana in London. Also attesting to the fact that football is not just a game but can be the heart beat of an entire nation are Piere Wome of Cameroon and Kaita of Nigeria telling how imperative the beautiful game can be.

The Money side of the Game
On the economic side, gone are the days when soccer was played for fun and watched on leisure. It is now considered as a whole business entity with a lot of investments in it. There's lots of money in soccer, of course. The financial aspect and benefits of soccer makes several professionals constantly grin to their various banks and provides no hesitations for many billionaires to invest into it. A country like Britain, has witnessed major foreign ownership of her top clubs like Manchester United, Liverpool, West Ham United, New Castle United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Portsmouth and Tottenham Hotspurs. The purchasing of these football clubs have led to foreign investment into the game which have now become one sector of the economy. I don`t want to believe it was for nothing that the likes of the Glazers acquired a club like Manchester United or perhaps for fun that a Russian oil guru Roman Abramovich has pumped over £550m of his personal fortune into my favourite Football Club Chelsea, a club he bought for over £100m in 2004. Aside this foreign ownership of clubs in the UK and elsewhere in Europe, the whooping salaries and signing on fees for players and coaches, attractive participating fees, huge per diems, expensive broadcasting rights and winning bonuses that characterises the modern game can sum up my claim that “there is lots of money in soccer’’.
Religion
What is soccer if not everything that religion should be? In real view, this game serves as a tool for global integration and as such a unifier in many instances. In the words of Ban Kim Moon, the United Nations Secretary, “Football is a universal language we all speak and understand” so it comes as no surprise that his outfit, FIFA and other notable charity organizations has adopted the game of soccer to curb social problems like hunger,poverty, racism, child abuse and illiteracy.Let us also not forget the numerous soccer stars like David Joseph Benjamin Beckham, Christiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Lionel Messi, Didier Drogba, Micheal Essien and others who are serving as ambassadors and hence using 'the beautiful game' as a tool to promote humanitarian works propagated.

With all these social and economic gains soccer brings, I guess if not believe that the perception people including you! (the reader) might have had that the game of soccer is just for leisure and fun has changed and now, you consider it as “The Beautiful Game” as I do.
By ATTAH-EFFAH BADU

Credits-
“History of Soccer”
http://sec3sat.blogspot.com/
Origin and History of the Great Game –Soccer
http://maxinews.co.uk/sport/origin-and-history-of-the-great-game-%E2%80%93soccer-3/
Who Invented Soccer? – A History of the Sport
http://www.nanyamuju.com/who-invented-soccer-a-history-of-the-sport/

ESSIEN THE “BULL’’

ESSIEN THE “BULL’’
He is touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert boundless energy in supporting offensive and defensive play. His tough tackling style and physical presence on the pitch have earned him the accolades “the Bison", “the Matador” and “the Train”. Due to his versatility, he has often been deployed to multiple midfield roles though he plays primarily in central midfield role with combined opportunities to go forward or support defensive play. Between the summer of 2007 and 2009, he was the most expensive African footballer on account of his £24.4 million move from French club Olympique Lyonnais to Chelsea FC, an achievement which was latter surpassed by Togolese international Emmanuel Adebayor, who moved from Arsenal to Manchester City for £25 million.
Michael Kojo Essien, born on the 3rd day of December 1982 to Aba Gyandoh and James Essien, he began his football career after graduating from the St. Augustine's College in Cape Coast and started his professional career with Liberty Professionals. His performance caught the eyes of national team selectors which gave him the chance to represent his country during the 1999 FIFA U-17 World Championship in New Zealand. His spirited performance at tournament led to considerable attention from European scouts and earned him a trial at Manchester United in April 2000, playing in the club's youth team's defeat by Derby County. The deal fell out and in July 2000, the young prodigy was signed by French club Bastia. At Bastia, he did not immediately command a consistent place in the team, being deployed in various positions in the back four.
However, due to an injury to a team-mate, he was given a temporary opportunity to play in central midfield, and flourished in this new role. In the 2002–03 season, he helped Bastia to qualify for the UEFA Cup, scoring six goals that season. Soon, Paris Saint-Germain, Lyon and Marseille made offers for him. Essien rejected PSG's contract offer, and instead agreed terms with Lyon, who paid Bastia €7.8 million for the transfer. At Lyon, Essien played more of a defensive midfield role, featuring regularly in the Lyon team that won the third and fourth of their then ongoing string of consecutive Ligue 1 titles. For his sterling performances, he was voted the 2005 Player of the Year by France's National Union of Professional Footballers (UNFP) and was as well nominated for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year Award and placed 22nd in 2005.
Soon his exploits attracted offers from several top European teams and on August 14, 2005, Lyon and Chelsea agreed a £24.4 million fee for the Ghanaian, finally ending one of the longest-running transfer sagas. At the time, the fee made Essien Chelsea's most expensive signing of all time, beating the £24 million they paid for Didier Drogba the previous summer. He debuted for Chelsea as a second half substitute against Arsenal on August 21, 2005, spotting the number 5 on his shirt. A game the ‘Blues’ won by a goal to nil courtesy a Didier Drogba strike. He made an assist in his full debut against West Bromwich Albion and again replaced injured Claude Makélélé in the defensive midfield role against Sunderland in the 2–0 win on September 10, and soon cemented his place in José Mourinho's side, making a total of 42 appearances in all competitions.

Essien scored his first goal for Chelsea in March 11, 2006, in a 2–1 victory over their London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. His second goal came on April 17, 2006, against Everton with a powerful strike after an assertive burst through the defensive line and ended his maiden season in England with two Premier League goals.
After impressing at Chelsea and at the 2006 World Cup with Ghana, Essien was again nominated for the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year Award on October 12, 2006.One week later, he was nominated for the 2006 Ballon d'Or. Again, he was voted as the 3rd Best African Footballer of the Year in 2006, a feat he achieved in 2005.
The following season he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal for Chelsea in a 2–0 victory over Werder Bremen of Germany on September 12, 2006. Chelsea fans voted Essien as Chelsea Player of the Year for his contributions in the 2006–07 season becoming the first African to receive that honour. On August 13, 2007, Essien grabbed the winner with his first goal of the 2007–08 Premier League campaign, as Chelsea defeated Birmingham City, to set an English record for unbeaten league matches at home – eclipsing Liverpool's previous top-flight record of 63 set between 1978 and 1981.
The 2006 BBC African Footballer of the Year and one time French Player of the Year has a good eye for goal and on occasions scored breath-taking goals including his late dramatic equalizing goal for Chelsea against Arsenal on 10 December, 2006,a goal which was voted Chelsea’s Goal of the Season for 2006–07.He also registered a spectacular late winner in the quarter-final second leg against Valencia at the Mestalla in the 2006–07 UEFA Champions League Season and another stunning left-footed volley in the second leg of the Champions League semi-final against FC Barcelona On May 6 2009,which was again voted 2008-09 goal of the season by Chelsea FC fans. He has won with Chelsea two Premiership titles in 2005–06 and 2009-2010,Football League Cup in2006–07 as well as three FA Cups in 2006–07, 2008–09 and 2009-2010 and two FA Community Shields.
At the national level, he made his competitive senior debut in the 2002 African Nations Cup against Morocco on 21 January, 2002. On May 16, 2006, Essien was part of the team that represented Ghana at the 2006 World Cup in Germany and helped Ghana become the only African team to reach the second round of the 2006 World Cup with two man of the match performances. He was simply outstanding in the African Cup of Nations 2008 Tournament in Ghana driving the Bronze winning team with his power packed performances including a captaincy role in the quarter-final against Nigeria. He also made it into the All-Star Players after the tournament and subsequently helped Ghana make a second consecutive World Cup appearance in South Africa though he missed the tournament due to injury.
Undoubtedly he is one of the best players to grace the football fraternity and a player most lovers of the beautiful game will always remember.

COMPILED BY ATTAH-EFFAH BADU (ROMEO)
Credit Chelseafc.com and En.wikipedia.org

THE LIBERTARIAN THEORY VERSUS THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY THEORY

THE LIBERTARIAN THEORY VERSUS THE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY THEORY
As part of efforts to curtail the waning credibility of the press in America in the 1940’s, a Commission on Freedom of the Press was set up in 1947 to look into it. Headed by
Robert Hutchins, they met to discuss the phenomenon and after deliberation, the Commission reached two basic conclusions:
(a) The press has a responsibility to society; and (b) because the libertarian
press of the United States is not meeting this responsibility. They therefore proposed for the
need of a new press favoring a socially responsible press. A proposal that has been the subject of practical deliberation for over 40 years. In search for an alternative theory, the Four Theories of the Press .propagated by Siebert, Peterson, & Schramm, was referred to.
In the book, Four Theories of the Press, originally published in 1956, Siebert, Peterson and Schramm help give historical, philosophical and international perspective of the press. They did not hide their interest in the libertarian theory and the social responsibility theory which they claim as the background for today's free press particularly in the United States. However it is not only predominantly in the United State but in Ghana as well.
THE LIBERTARIAN THEORY
According to Siebert, Peterson and Schramm, this theory was adopted in England after 1688 and influential elsewhere in the world takes the philosophical view that man is rational and able to discern between truth and falsehood and, therefore, can choose between a better and worse alternative. Man is capable of determining his own destiny, and given all the facts will make the right choice.
In his book, Siebert explains the libertarian theory also known as free press theory. Seeks to give the media the liberty to publish whatever it likes. There is no explicit connection between the government and the media in the libertarian theory.
The theory advocates that the ownership of the media should be chiefly private. It also charges the media to inform, entertain, sell, as well as discover truth and check on government. Siebert goes on to say that in the libertarian system, attacks on the government's policies are fully accepted and even encouraged. Moreover, there should be no restrictions on import or export of media messages across the national frontiers. Simply, journalists and media professionals ought to have full autonomy within the media organization.
Though it is hard to find intact examples of libertarian media systems in today's world as many of the media systems in many countries has have tendencies of authoritarianism as well, The importance of this theory especially the freedom of the media can’t be overlooked as it’s history traces back to the 17th century's thinker John Milton, who asserted that human beings inevitably choose the best ideas and values. Again, rooted in this theory is the belief held by Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States, that if man exercised reason, the majority, as a group, would make sound decisions, even if individual citizens might not. Jefferson said, "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have government without newspapers or newspapers without government, I should not hesitate for a moment to prefer the latter. But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them."
With the foundation of this theory pillared around objectivity, press freedom and individual right, some of the other assumptions include,
*Press should be free from external censorship.
*Publication and distribution should be accessible to any individual or group a permit or license.
*No attacks on governments or parties should be subjected to punishment.
*Freedom of access to information.
*No coercion to publish anything.
Ghana and the libertarian theory
The libertarian theory and some of it’s assumptions undoubtedly a recipe for democracy as it possesses notable features in the practice of democracy of the press and the mass media as whole. Especially their liberty. The media in Ghana as well as elsewhere plays key roles in the administration of the country and fair grounds of freedom;
*They educate the public.
*Protects minority interest.
*As fourth estate of the realm, ensures accountability on the part of the government.
*Keep the government on it’s toes through justified criticisms.
*Serves as a voice of the voiceless.
With Ghana as a kingpin in democracy, the assumptions of the libertarian theory is given a thump up by the fundamental laws of the country which is the “1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana”. As if the drafters of the constitution had passion for the assumptions of the theory made provisions in the constitution which indirectly vindicates the principles of the libertarian theory.
Article 162 (1) of the constitution guarantees the freedom and independence of the media.
Clause (2) of the same article also stresses on the liberty of the press as it states that “there shall be no impediment to the establishment of the private press or media……...” this is synonymous to Siebert’s claim that the media should be chiefly owned.
Summing it up is clause (4) which on government interference states that “editors and publishers of newspapers and institutions of the mass media shall not be subject to control or interference by the government, nor shall they be penalized or harassed for their editorial opinions and views or content of their publication”
The social responsibility theory
Siebert, Peterson and Schramm notes that one’s right to free expression must be balanced against the private rights of others and against vital social interests."
An advocate of this theory believes that the press has a moral obligation to consider the overall needs of society when making journalistic decisions.
The press is to play an important role in the develop¬ment
and stability of modern society. The social responsibility theory brought forth by an American initiative in the late forties after realizing the inability of the press to reveal the truth. The Commission on Freedom of the Press provided a model in which the media had certain obligations to society. These obligations were expressed in the words "in formativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity, and balance"
. .Siebert also writes that the goal of the social responsibility system is that media as a whole is pluralized, indicating "a reflection of the diversity of society as well as access to various points of view. The social responsibility principle is to provide an entrance to different mass media to minority groups. The journalist is accountable to his audience as well as to the government. An illustration of the theory puts the mass media and the government on the same level, signifying an interaction where both parts are allowed to criticize the other.
SRT IN GHANA
The Canons of Journalism, adopted by the American Society of Newspaper Editors addresses these same obligations when it calls on newspapers to practice responsibility to the general welfare, sincerity, truthfulness, impartiality, fair play, decency, and respect for the individual's privacy . A truthful, complete account of the news is not necessarily enough today, notes the Commission on the Freedom of the Press: "It is no longer enough to report the fact truthfully. It is now necessary to report the truth about the fact." Today's complex world often necessitates analysis, explanation, and interpretation. The Ghana Journalist Association in The GJA Codes of Ethics adopted by the National Council at Sunyani on July 27, 1994 on the responsibility of the press in article (20) states “in collecting and disseminating information, the journalist should bear in mind his/her responsibility to the public at large and the various interest in society.” Gone are days when the owners and managers of the press determine which persons, which facts, which versions of these facts, shall reach the public but now, in a bid to be responsible to the society on which the survival media depends on, most the press have taken to a practice whereby issues affecting the society have been prioritized ahead of all other issues. News and information which tends to see the well being of the society are given the due attention it deserves.
Siebert, Peterson and Schramm on the responsibility of the media warn: “...the power and near monopoly position of the media impose on them an obligation to be socially responsible, to see that all sides are fairly presented and that the public has enough information to decide; and that if the media do not take on themselves such responsibility it may be necessary for some other agency of the public to enforce it.”
In this same light, to guide the Ghanaian Journalist, article 1 (1 to2) of the Code of ethics gives it as a duty of the journalist to write and report the truth and report the truth bearing in mind his /her duty to serve the public.“The public have the right to unbiased, accurate and comprehensive information as well as express themselves through the media” The code also states.
An informed populace is the cornerstone of democracy. It is the press, therefore, that must be the "more alert element" and keep the public informed and this is what both theories preach.

Similarities
*Both theories work in the interest of the less privileged and the minority in the society.
*Accountability of the government to the society is something both theories believe in.
*Under the Libertarian theory likewise the SRT, the media can be chiefly owned by the private as well.
*The responsibility to keep the public informed and educated lies on the press.
*Both theories endorse the freedom of the press.
*They can both survive under a democratic system of government.
*Both theories seek to attain transparency in government.
CONTRAST
*The social responsibility theory is an outgrowth of the libertarian theory. However, social responsibility goes beyond "objective" reporting to "interpretive" reporting.
*Though both theories consider accountability, the libertarian theorist believes in been accountable to their owners whiles the SRT does not. As opposed to the libertarian theory, the social responsibility principle is to provide an entrance to different mass media to minority groups. The journalist is accountable to his audience as well as to the government.
*Though both theories have no room for government interference and control, the SRT at time have room for government control.
Under the social responsibility theory, man is viewed not so much irrational as lethargic. He is capable of using his reason but he is loath to do so.

CREDITS
Responsibility Theory: An
Ethical Perspective
By Scott Lloyd
Brigham Young University
Undergraduate Winner 1991
Carol Burnett/University of Hawaii
AEJMC Ethics Competition.

The 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana.

Government for SSS
By Isaac Kwesi Prah.

The Ghana Journalist Association Code of Ethics.
Works Cited
Altschull , J. Herbert. Agents of Power: The Role of the News Media in Human Affairs. New York: Longman, 1984.
Biagi , Shirley. Media/Impact: An Introduction to Mass Media.