Frank Fredericks And Sport Diplomacy
By: HENNY H SEIBEB
SPORT diplomacy is the renewed and re-energised catchphrase in international politics these days, especially since the athletic prowess exhibited by Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter, during the Beijing and London Olympic games. Dubbed the ‘Lightning Bolt’, Usain had the whole world on its feet as it followed his exploits and entertaining moments.
Because of Bolt, Jamaican sporting regalia is globally amongst the most recognisable and best selling brands alongside those of the likes of Manchester United FC and Barcelona FC. Jamaica, with a population of 2.7 million, exports sports coaches and is an ideal destination for sport tourism. It has successfully transformed itself from a small tourist island into an empire of global track and field stars.
It is critical to state that sports diplomacy essentially means the use of sport as a means to influence diplomatic, social, and political relations. It may even transcend cultural differences and bring people together. Thus it is no small measure that cultural and sport diplomacy combined could be a very powerful tool for Namibia. Currently, there is no integrated tourism strategy looking at all aspects of marketing Namibia as a destination of choice - except the usual rhetoric around dunes, wildlife and pristine environment.
We could use sport diplomacy to project our power in the festival of world ideas and to influence the perceptions and outlook of other nations, international organisations, and non-state actors to pursue our national interests and enhance our geo-political standing. Sports diplomacy must therefore find its expression in our domestic policy, which should in turn inform our foreign policy because our foreign policy derives its meaning from our domestic policies.
It is my firm conviction that Namibia should promote its cultural and sport diplomacy through Frank Fredericks. Fredericks, the institution, is the single best thing who has dawned on our horizon since independence. He has the potential to brand Namibia internationally, as he serves currently in the most powerful sports institutions of the world, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and on its executive board and as International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) council member. He rubs shoulders annually with the likes of Sepp Blatter, President of the soccer football governing body FIFA, and the President of IAAF, Lamine Diack.
Fredericks served on the Athletes Commission since 2004 after the Athens Olympic Games, where he represented all the athletes of the world in 204 IOC member countries. Theoretically, he has access to all athletes in the world. Apart from meeting annually with presidents of international sport federations, he also interacts with all the oil-rich countries’ presidents and monarchs. Fredericks could single-handedly attract major sporting events and investments to Namibia. He has all the right networks and lobbying platforms to invite world sporting personalities such as Usain Bolt, Serena Williams, Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, Chad le Clos, Michael Phelps, Lionel Messi or even Pele to Namibia for exhibition matches and motivational talks to aspiring athletes and youth. As the president of Athletics Namibia, why then does Fredericks not use the powers conferred on him to advance sport development in Namibia?
Patrick S Chamunda, an IOC member from Zambia, through his presence at this body, enabled the IOC to recognise Zambia as a beneficiary of the Olympic Youth Development Centre, the same centre which hosted the Zone Under 20 Youth Games in December 2012. Currently, Namibia does not have any high performance sport centres, 22 years after independence. This is mediocrity. It is time that we invest in a world class high performance sport centre and recreational facilities.
Brand ‘Frank Fredericks’ would have contributed substantially to the GDP of Namibia, in the same way Yao Ming, Chinese basketballer did to China’s GDP. The Chinese soccer team did not win at the 2002 Korea-Japan FIFA World Cup, but Chinese products did. IOC has an observer status at the United Nations meetings hence enabling Fredericks to use his status to influence the corridor of global diplomacy. He yields more standing in global politics than many Namibian diplomats could imagine. The government has in this case failed to use that power and influence.
International politics is no longer a sole domain of politicians. Ordinary citizens who have achieved international recognition, be it in sports, science, art, or in academia could be used to market Namibia as a destination of choice. The Namibia Tourism Board, apart from being obsessed with the so-called Chinese market and globetrotting in attending World Tourism Expos, has arguably veered off from its main mandate, which is that of concrete and practical international tourism marketing.
Alternatively, we could establish an international marketing council and/or council of international affairs to enhance our cultural and sport diplomacy worldwide. Such institutions could endeavour to acquire services of notable Namibians, retired or still active with regional or international achievements to serve in them to promote Namibia worldwide, just like the USA sometimes use Bill Clinton and Angelina Jolie. Such an integrated diplomatic strategy could cut across the above and market Namibia significantly.
*Henny H Seibeb is an analyst and co-editor of the book “The Politics of Apologetics” published in Windhoek in 2010