1. Yes sport does deserve the large sums of money spent on it
1.1. Social
1.1.1. Health benefits
1.1.1.1. Facilities for fitness training and recreation
1.1.1.2. sports can also improve cognitive skills by increasing blood flow to brain
1.1.2. Improving relations
1.1.2.1. sports that require collaboration is effective in improving relationships. Families can play team sports such as badminton to strengthen family ties. Schools, organisations, companies can use sports to improve peers' relationships.
1.1.3. Professional sportsmen get high salary because they entertain and inspire millions of people with their achievements.
1.1.4. Fights against discrimination
1.1.4.1. Provide for the physically disabled so that they can also participate in such games. This encourages them to strive for excellence despite their disabilities and feel like they are just as capable as anyone else
1.1.4.1.1. eg Paralympics, playing basketball on wheelchairs
1.1.4.2. sports careers are skill and talent based - not knowledge based - thus, people with low educational level can still carve out a career for themselves
1.2. Political
1.2.1. improve relations between countries through sport
1.2.1.1. E.g 1970s, Cold War denture (thawing of relations between superpowers), USA and China with opposing ideologies came together to enjoy a friendly over table tennis
1.3. Moral
1.3.1. teaches people the spirit of fair play and teamwork
1.4. Economic
1.4.1. host countries of games like YOG, ASEAN games, Olympic Games stand to gain, though they have to invest in building certain facilities and infrastructure but there'll be benefits such as an influx of tourists, boosting the country's economy
1.4.1.1. Singapore economy had seen a boost in foreign visitor spending in the lead up to the Singapore 2010 YOG. Between August 11 and 15, > US$42.5 million was spent by international visitors to Singapore on Visa-branded payment cards, a 45% increase from the same period in 2009.
2. definitions
2.1. sport
2.1.1. competitive
2.1.1.1. sacrifice, intensity, contention for prize
2.1.2. non-competitive
2.1.2.1. relaxation, fun
2.1.3. team games
2.1.3.1. soccer,basketball etc.
2.1.4. individual games
2.1.4.1. tennis, boxing etc.
2.1.5. physical activity
2.2. merit
2.3. vast sums of money
2.3.1. build sports facilities and infrastructure eg. stadiums, swimming pools, gymnasiums
2.3.1.1. if all these are built throughout the country and a majority of the people have access to these facilities, then there will be health benefits as will have places for recreation and for fitness
2.3.1.2. facilities for hosting of major sporting events eg. Bird's Nest Stadium in Beijing - source of pride, tourist attraction
2.3.2. hosting and organisation of events
2.3.2.1. eg Olympics every 4 years
2.3.3. sponsorship
2.3.4. prizes, trophies
2.3.5. salaries of sportsmen
2.3.6. transfer fees for players/purchase
3. No sport does not deserve this amount of money spent
3.1. Social
3.1.1. building of sports facilities displaced citizens eg. Beijing Bird's Nest Stadium
3.1.2. even though sports can create job opportunities, years of training resulted in loss of youth to study and build up knowledge- when atheletes get older their careers will have to end but they will have no employment backup due to their lack of skills and knowledge
3.1.2.1. Chinese gymnast Zhang Shangwu, former world champion gymnast had to resort to begging after sustaining an injury and losing his career as a result.
3.1.3. sport discriminates
3.1.3.1. though the handicapped can participate in sports, those without access to sport facilities are unable to participate, creating a gap between those who have access to sport facilities and those who do not have such access
3.1.4. sports are a source of conflict
3.1.4.1. supporters of different football leagues insult each other and fight between themselves over issues such as racial problems etc
3.1.4.1.1. Football hooliganism
3.2. Moral
3.2.1. Distorts the true meaning of sports
3.2.1.1. People play sports for the large sums of prize money rather than enjoyment
3.2.1.1.1. Sportsmen resort to underhand means to get the prize - attacking other players, using performance-enhancement drugs etc
3.2.1.2. British culture secretary Jeremy Hunt said: "A third fewer people play sport after their 16th birthday." + Sport England Chief Executive Jennie Price said: "Changing the sporting behaviour of a generation is a major challenge, which has not been achieved by any other Olympic host nation.
3.2.2. It may promote illegal means of expenditure on sports
3.2.2.1. Gambling on Sports
3.2.2.1.1. A survey conducted by the Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports in 2008 revealed that 9% of the respondents in Singapore engaged in sports betting on a regular basis
3.3. Economic
3.3.1. sports facilities built may not be used - waste of money and resources
3.3.2. Strain on government budget
3.3.2.1. Diverts money away from other government projects
3.3.2.2. Taxes have to be raised resulting greater burdern on the working population
3.3.2.3. E.g The PAP regime splurged an obscene $387 million dollars of taxpayers’ monies on the organisation of the YOG.