How to Teach Global Trade Inequality With Soccer

If you've ever tried to teach a group of kids (or even adults!) how globalized trade systems have become unfair and exploitative, then you've probably discovered who in the class snores the loudest. The topic needs a wake-up call, and so Fair Trade Sports and Oxfam have come up with a variation on soccer that teaches kids about inequalities of the global market while they have fun.

The idea behind the game is simple: two teams representing the Global South and the Global North start out playing soccer on a "fair and even" playing field.  Both sides have the same equipment and have to follow the same rules. A few minutes in, however, referees (representing the World Trade Organization) start making new rules in the name of "free trade" that give one team a huge competitive advantage over the other. For example, they might enlarge the goal defended by the Global South team to illustrate how poor countries are forced to open their markets to imports or send the best players from the Global South team to the Global North team to symbolize flow of high-skill jobs to wealthier countries. The game instructions include discussion questions to guide the soccer players through their experiences after the fact and information on how to buy a Fair Trade soccer ball. And this game is part of a larger curriculum for teaching kids about Fair Trade issues.

I love this game for a number of reasons. First, it takes a huge, complex issue like global trade inequality and breaks it down into ideas that kids can understand -- fair and unfair rules in a game. It engages them actively both physically and emotionally in the process and helps them empathize with people who are not always on "the winning team" internationally. Nobody likes to lose, but losing is especially painful when the rules were unfair. In one generation, we could change the rules and make them more fair. We could see a generation emerge who see human trafficking and exploited labor in consumer goods the same way children see new and arbitrary rules in an old favorite game: a gross injustice that must be immediately corrected. As consumers, our habits, preferences, and expectations are set from a young age; the older we get, the harder it becomes to change. Imagine if the next generation of children grew up thinking as much about where the stuff they buy comes from and how it's produced as price, quality, and coolness.

While this game and curriculum are made for children, I know a few adults who might benefit from this lesson and enjoy the game, too. After all, you're never to old to stretch your assumptions or grow your mind. And you're never too old for a nice game of soccer.

Photo credit: chipgriffin