For centuries sport has brought out the best qualities of human character: kindness, open-heartedness, resilience, camaraderie and team spirit. Sport helped overcome difficulties and lift spirits. Numerous books and films have been created that describe and highlight the role of sport in society. Many of them tell extraordinary stories of the lives and achievements of individual athletes and teams that inspire both their contemporaries and future generations. Over the centuries, sport has united people and nations, fostered mutual understanding and promoted conflict resolution. Indeed, at the beginning of history, wars ended with the beginning of the Olympic Games, and sports competitions united yesterday's enemies and rivals. Nowadays, athletes are seen as ambassadors of goodwill and peace. This is not to say that sport cannot itself incite conflict, especially if competitiveness goes too far and if sport begins to be used for selfish or political reasons. Although there are many books and films about sports, surprisingly few of them describe sports, the role of athletes and the importance of sports during the darkest times of the 20th century: World War II. At first glance it may seem that when war engulfed the entire European continent, there was no time or place for sport. However, in war-torn countries, sports and athletes have often given people a breath of fresh air and hope. Even though dictators and regimes used sport for their own advantage and propaganda, a true positive spirit of sport prevailed. Comparison Statement: I have chosen to analyze and compare two compelling stories about great athletes during World War II: the novel “Road to Valour ” by McConnon and McConnon and the film “Match” by director Andrey Malyukov. The plots of both... middle of paper... who even petitioned the Nazi government to spare the lives of the great Start football players. This in turn means that sport brings out the best in people: true sportsmen respect their opponents and accept defeat. In summary, while the book and film describe athletes from different countries who took part in different sports – a single Italian cyclist and a Ukrainian football team – the key unifying theme is their sportsmanship, courage in fighting evil, their perseverance and, consequently, their drive to inspire others to be courageous and strong. The heroes of two different countries did one important thing in common: they won and inspired others to fight and win. The cyclist portrayed in the book lived to tell the tale, while the footballers depicted in the film died. However, the memories of these brave athletes will live on, as will their actions.