The Fair Play Files # 1
This summer is an exciting time for us at Bala. We have new staff, a new website and (in case you missed it) a summer of football to enjoy. As the World Cup ramps up, England expect and Scotland hope. Sporting glory beckons as 48 nations prepare to face off, the iconic FIFA trophy at stake.
But those seeking football immortality would do well to cast minds back a century, to a time when international football was played exclusively between home nations and Scotland were dominant.
Corinthian FC was formed in 1882 and was famous for its ethos of “sportsmanship, fair play, [and] playing for the love of the game”. In the modern culture of competitive pragmatism their methods seem like madness…
"As far as they were concerned, a gentleman would never commit a deliberate foul. So, if a penalty was awarded against the Corinthians, their goalkeeper would stand aside and watch the ball being kicked into his own net." (1)
This dedication to the highest standard of sporting conduct had far reaching impacts. Liberated by a constitution that declared that it should "not compete for any challenge cup or any prize of any description” (2), Corinthians toured the world playing exhibition matches across continents. After beating Swiss club Young Boys 7-1 in their Easter tour of 1930, local paper ‘Der Kicker’ was moved to write…
“The Corinthians were superior in control of the ball, trapping and passing, body control, lightning starts and speed on the run. The tactical subtleties of the game, carried out in worthy, clean, sporting and almost youthful joy, were dainties for the connoisseur.”
Their influence transformed football from a British pastime into a global pursuit — and the Corinthian legacy lives on in ways most fans never realise. Real Madrid’s white shirts are widely said to have been inspired by the club. SC Corinthians Paulista — one of Brazil’s most celebrated sides — was founded in 1910 after a Corinthian tour, and plays in white to this day. Historians credit the club with standardising rules and playing styles that made a unified world game possible. The phrase ‘Corinthian spirit’ has endured as shorthand for everything noble in sport. The club itself merged with Casuals FC in 1939; Corinthian-Casuals F.C. still play today.
That spirit — playing fair, even when the rules don't require you to — is what Bala Sport is all about. Bala asks the same question off the pitch that Corinthian FC asked on it: is this fair? Are the people who make this game possible being treated well? The workers in Sialkot, Pakistan, who make every Bala ball by hand — are they paid fairly? Do their children go to school?
At Bala, the answer is yes. And we are proud to be part of the Fair Trade movement, putting Fair Play at the heart of a global sport.
This summer, while the world watches the beautiful game, we’ll be watching for moments of Corinthian spirit — and working to make sure that the ball at the heart of it all is something everyone can be proud of.
Football's coming home!
1 Lacey, Josh (2005). God is Brazilian. Charles Miller: The Man Who Brought Football to Brazil. Tempus Publishing. p. 71. ISBN 0 7524 3414 4.
2 Taylor, D.J. (2006). On the Corinthian Spirit. Yellow Jersey Press. p. 50. ISBN 9780224075855.