From the Sidelines

THE subject of serving self-interest in sport once again came up this week, with former Namibian President Sam Nujoma totally condemning such acts.

Namibian sport, as we all know, has been marred by such acts as individuals in the various codes continuously strive to only look after themselves when elected to powerful positions and in the end leaving the poor athletes suffer the consequences. I, and other sports columnists, have exhausted this subject in attempts to open people’s eyes to the detrimental effects of power struggles among sport administrators, but this seems to be getting even worse.The Minister of Sport, John Mutorwa, and various other leaders in the Namibian sporting fraternity have called for the squabbles and infighting to stop for the advancement of the respective codes, but to no avail.It is such an unfortunate situation that some officials in some of the sporting codes are so lured by the financial benefits that they keep on fighting for positions year in and year out.Namibia has an enormous amount of talent in basically all the sport codes, but the talent has been left undeveloped because the ones in charge cannot properly manage and run the codes.A lack of professionalism and a real sense of working towards the development of the various codes is truly a shameful scenario among codes.In general, Namibian sport administrators are geared towards benefiting rather than giving their input in furthering sports.This has been demonstrated by many administrators, especially in football, which is undoubtedly the biggest sport code in the country.The issue that puzzles me is that why is it always the same people that are re-elected to positions despite their woeful track records in administering their respective codes.These people keep on popping up in another code if they are ousted from the ones they messed up and this really needs to change.Where are the professionals who can possibly be capable of running some of these codes? Football for example is a prime sport all over the world and it needs sound administrators who should only think in terms of continuously improving it and strive for favourable results on national level.This also goes for the other codes which have their own internal fights.I think crucial positions such as the secretary general of a federation or association should be advertised to recruit competent people.Sometimes these positions are not advertised and the same people are kept despite their terms coming to an end.This in all honesty kills sport as some of the administrators run out of ideas and do not prove useful anymore.In major sports bodies which can afford to pay their heads of administration, it will be advisable to advertise the positions instead of executive committees opting for people they like.This has so far happened in rugby, athletics, football and netball, while the other minority codes have also done that.Overall, it is unfair for athletes and players to be subjected to individuals who strive to enrich themselves and push their agendas at the expense of the ones who want to make careers out of sport.Namibia will never compete favourably on international level if there is no drastic change in the managing of sport from administrators who are inept with skills and a high level of professionalism.There are currently very few sport codes that have plans of action for the next five years.The lack of setting objectives in some sport houses is a major cause of the poor performance of the athletes and teams because there is no long-term strategy to work towards.Also, elections of officials should have independent people who should have the powers to declare them free and fair or to simply nullify if all is not well.Lastly, congratulations to the Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) for having their own headquarters now.This house, which aims to set up a museum and a library, should serve as an important source of information for Namibian sportsmen and women to further their careers in becoming world-class athletes.I, and other sports columnists, have exhausted this subject in attempts to open people’s eyes to the detrimental effects of power struggles among sport administrators, but this seems to be getting even worse.The Minister of Sport, John Mutorwa, and various other leaders in the Namibian sporting fraternity have called for the squabbles and infighting to stop for the advancement of the respective codes, but to no avail.It is such an unfortunate situation that some officials in some of the sporting codes are so lured by the financial benefits that they keep on fighting for positions year in and year out.Namibia has an enormous amount of talent in basically all the sport codes, but the talent has been left undeveloped because the ones in charge cannot properly manage and run the codes.A lack of professionalism and a real sense of working towards the development of the various codes is truly a shameful scenario among codes.In general, Namibian sport administrators are geared towards benefiting rather than giving their input in furthering sports.This has been demonstrated by many administrators, especially in football, which is undoubtedly the biggest sport code in the country.The issue that puzzles me is that why is it always the same people that are re-elected to positions despite their woeful track records in administering their respective codes.These people keep on popping up in another code if they are ousted from the ones they messed up and this really needs to change.Where are the professionals who can possibly be capable of running some of these codes? Football for example is a prime sport all over the world and it needs sound administrators who should only think in terms of continuously improving it and strive for favourable results on national level.This also goes for the other codes which have their own internal fights.I think crucial positions such as the secretary general of a federation or association should be advertised to recruit competent people.Sometimes these positions are not advertised and the same people are kept despite their terms coming to an end.This in all honesty kills sport as some of the administrators run out of ideas and do not prove useful anymore.In major sports bodies which can afford to pay their heads of administration, it will be advisable to advertise the positions instead of executive committees opting for people they like.This has so far happened in rugby, athletics, football and netball, while the other minority codes have also done that.Overall, it is unfair for athletes and players to be subjected to individuals who strive to enrich themselves and push their agendas at the expense of the ones who want to make careers out of sport.Namibia will never compete favourably on international level if there is no drastic change in the managing of sport from administrators who are inept with skills and a high level of professionalism.There are currently very few sport codes that have plans of action for the next five years.The lack of setting objectives in some sport houses is a major cause of the poor performance of the athletes and teams because there is no long-term strategy to work towards.Also, elections of officials should have independent people who should have the powers to declare them free and fair or to simply nullify if all is not well.Lastly, congratulations to the Namibia National Olympic Committee (NNOC) for having their own headquarters now.This house, which aims to set up a museum and a library, should serve as an important source of information for Namibian sportsmen and women to further their careers in becoming world-class athletes.