No Emotions At All

AT the end of last week and earlier this week, I was lambasted by some football officials who claim that I ‘attach emotions’ and am constantly negative when reporting on football.

It is no secret that over the years, sports journalists have been fighting endless wars with some of these officials, but the fact remains that we are not going to change the way we report on the game.
For long, some of the football officials, especially at Soccer House, have been playing dirty by covering up issues that needed to be brought into the public domain.
It has been such an unpleasant scenario and we repeatedly tried our best to bring out the bad and the good from the game over the years.
The chaotic cup presentation when African Stars won the league last week Wednesday was a typical event that could not have gone without being reported on.
Unfortunately, journalists don’t see stories as they happen in the same way, but I felt that since the event was poorly planned, it had to be brought out, despite the focus being on Stars winning the league.
The lack of security that caused an invasion of the fans into the presentation area was the burning issue in my view and I thought that needed to be reported on for officials to take note and possibly improve on it in future.
But for some strange reason, after I reported on that in my column last week, I got negative responses from the Namibia Premier League (NPL) media officer, Meke Namindo, Stars chairman Mbakumua Hengari and NFA chief Barry Rukoro.
Their primary reasoning was that I ‘attached emotions’ in the way I reported the crowning of Stars by pointing out the flaws during the cup presentation.
I will repeat that the event was poorly planned and made the job for journalists extremely difficult, as fans were all crowded into the presentation area.
The players and management of the champion team did not even receive their medals. How much worse can it get if a player goes home without his medal but has won the league title?
Now, I am being labelled as the black sheep who only reports on the negative aspects, while other colleagues write colourful pieces in praise of officials and football in general.
To be honest, I am not sorry about reporting on any chaos, unruly behaviour from the fans or poor planning from officials running the game.
I will report on events as they happen because I have a duty to inform our readers on the situation on the ground. At this newspaper, we don’t favour any team or individual and we strive to tell it like it is. No hidden agendas and there is no way that we are going to suck up to anyone.
The football officials who lambasted me for pointing out the irregularities should realise that if the media are not telling the truth, the public will lose faith in us because we have a duty to inform them.
The claims by the trio that I ‘attach emotions’ to what I do are utter rubbish.
No journalist in his or her right mind can just turn a blind eye on such a major chaotic incident like the crowning of Stars. Some did on the night because they are used to be treated like that, but in our case, this has been going on for years and despite being addressed by us, it can still not go unchallenged.
I appeal to the football officials to be mindful of what they preach and what they do at the same time. We are told things will change, but it never happens.
It is also not a sin to admit having made a mistake. Some of our football officials never want to admit that they have messed up and at the same time refuse to take advice.
They are preaching at every event we attend on football that the media are partners in the game, but when issues of great concern such as the chaotic cup presentation happen and are brought out in the open, no one wants to take the responsibility.
They instead blame the media who apparently put through negative reports. Rubbish.
The message should be clear. Ensure that you practise what you preach, be fair and frank in your dealings and, most importantly, be open to criticism and learn how to respond to it. Also learn to improve on your past mistakes.
Making wild allegations with no substance only exposes your total lack of understanding of the role of the media and, at the same time, makes you appear incompetent and evasive.
corry@namibian.com.na