Sport and football — as the British say — can offer a unique opportunity to celebrate different cultures and serve as a mechanism to fight hate.
That’s a vision the United Kingdom’s independent adviser on antisemitism, Lord John Mann, presented in Dallas Monday. In a conversation moderated by Dallas Cowboys sportscaster Brad Sham, who is Jewish, and the Dallas chapter of the American Jewish Committee, Mann said he has worked with sports teams, including soccer clubs, to host religious holiday events for Jewish and Muslim fans.
The famous Arsenal Football Club now has its own official Jewish supporters group.
“It’s transferrable to other countries,” Mann said during the event at Congregation Shearith Israel.
Mann said celebrating cultures and traditions is more than a social good: it can help bring in and retain new fans. And by catering to children who are fans of the sport, he hopes to build a pipeline of future talent.
Dallas City Council member Bill Roth said following the event that over the past few weeks, the FIFA World Cup has shown how people have gotten to know each other through sports. North Texas is hosting nine World Cup matches.
“Sports can be a tremendous unifying factor in getting people to collaborate,” Roth said.