1. To simply keep fit?
1.1. Many people, especially youths in Singapore play sports to stay healthy and as a form of recreation. Sports at grassroots level are seldom linked to money as its play purely for enjoyment and not for financial gain or benefits.
2. FOR
2.1. betting and gambling
2.1.1. increasing trend of people betting
2.1.1.1. eg . on soccer etc.
2.1.2. illegal gambling on sports
2.1.2.1. leads to match-fixing by bookmakers to ensure that sporting results go their way to earn more revenue
2.2. sponsors and advertisements
2.2.1. sportsmen earn lots of money from advertisements and endorsements
2.2.1.1. eg. Tiger Woods earns 98 million US dollars endorsing Nike products
2.2.2. Sporting events require large amount of sponsers to make event feasible
2.3. sports = job ?
2.3.1. sport as a source of income
2.3.1.1. eg. In china where kids are trained from young to participate and generate income for the family
2.3.2. pay of sportsmen extremely high
2.3.2.1. eg. Christiano Ronaldo earns 250000 Euros a week
2.3.3. prize money is usually motivation
2.3.3.1. People resort to taking illegal performance-enhancing drugs, eg. anabolic steroids, which are detrimental to their health just to win. (doping practices), eg.
2.4. Sporting Events
2.4.1. Huge sums of money are being spent on the organisation of these events compared to the past.
2.4.1.1. eg. Olympics, World Cup, YOG
2.4.2. Spectators have to pay huge sums of money just to watch the Games
2.4.2.1. Eg. Even the costs of broadcasting rights has skyrocketed, in view of the 2010 Fifa World Cup. - $15 million dollars paid by both Singtel and Starhub for the rights. - Triple the amount of what Starhub paid in 2006.
2.4.3. Countries hosting them usually have "ulterior motives", usually want to boost their country's economy through these games and not promoting the Games.
2.4.3.1. Eg. countries bid to host certain events like the olympics, world cup, etc, so they could boost their countries reputation as well as econmony ( by earning the tourist dollar)
2.5. Technology
2.5.1. Expensive technology is now used in sporting events and even in sportmens gear
2.5.1.1. Eg. Hawk eye technology(A computer system used in sports to visually track the path of the ball and display a record of its most statistically likely path as a moving image), Speedo swim suits etc.
3. AGAINST
3.1. Genuine love for the sport
3.1.1. i.e, passion. some people focus more on intrinsic values of sport rather than money, playing for the love of the game.
3.1.1.1. eg. Coaches, who want to share their experiences with younger athletes to spread the passion and love for the game, eg. Former National sprinter, C. Kunalan eg. Athletes like Lance Armstrong who overcame testicular cancer and participated in the 2009 Tour de France.
3.2. National pride
3.2.1. some sportsmen focus more on bringing glory to their country
3.3. Incentive for Athletes to perform.
3.3.1. It gives sportsmen who wish to pursue their passion as their career to be able to spend their 100% in their pursuit of their goals and dreams, without needing to work for income to support their families.
3.4. link how people engage in sports out of other reasons (e.g. the love for it), and how money (though a lot in some cases), isn't the primary motive/motivation for them. Contrast this with others where sports is TOO closely liked to money
4. STAND ?
4.1. YES IT IS !
4.1.1. What does it mean by too closely linked?
4.1.2. sports will inevitable linked to money however it starts getting dangerous and the true meaning of sport if lost if it is TOO closely linked to money
4.1.3. the harsh truth is that in today's world money speaks and the biggest motivation for most sportsmen unfortuantely is money
5. closely linked?
5.1. parameters
5.1.1. How closely linked is defined. If just plainly involving money means closely linked then everything in the world will be too closely linked.
5.1.1.1. eg.too closely linked when sports is linked to bribery, gambling, exploitation, etc