Sport is a fashionable pastime. Playing sports is considered good for one's health. There are two varieties of one thing: the recreational and the professional sport. Amateurs practise sports for the enjoyment of doing it without any financial gain.
These days, sporting activity brings on the risk of injury, so various forms of insurance are common with players and athletes. Apart from life insurance, they pay money for insurance policies for their legs, hands, and the like. Michael Schumacher's leg insured leg brought him much money after the car accident in which it was broken. Several retired sportsmen suffer from health troubles. Muhammad Ali (former Cassius Clay) a famous retired boxing champion suffers from Parkinson disease. Numerous heavyweight athletes hurt their spine.
Several professional sportswomen get pregnant only to have abortion in a few weeks for better athletic efficiency. This act is against the law and is treated as hormonal doping. Doping itself is a major trouble with qualified sport. Although it increases the sportsmen's performance, doping is very dangerous, so it is banned. Football players or athletes undergo anti-doping tests before and after the match or competition. In case the test reveals illegal medicines, the record is nullified, the medals are withdrawn and the player is disqualified. Taking anabolic steroids is prohibited, too. Steroids help in body-building, but they are very harmful. Those who stop taking steroids lose their fitness and their muscles go flabby. Although players and athletes realize the danger of illegal doping and using steroids, they take them at the risk of losing their health and reputation.
Professional sport is associated with enormous cash. The most renowned football teams are supported by large corporations for membership cards and advertising done by the players, while exceptions like e.g. FC Barcelona are not frequent. Nevertheless, players in s European Union countries can choose the team and place where they want to play, although in other countries they are not allowed to.
