Self-interest in sport hopeless

THIS week I thought to myself how personal interests and selfishness curtails the progress of Namibian sport.

I also thought about the many elections that most sport bodies had but which yielded little or no results.I decided to put my brain to work by scanning through the current leaders who are in power in the various sports bodies and what progress they have made under those persons. Also, how best our sportsmen and women have performed locally, regionally or internationally under those regimes.I was quickly reminded that despite the leaders who are in power in these sport bodies at the moment, the biggest evil of no progress is the question of vested interests.I have seen a lot of bickering, personal attacks, back-stabbing and rumour-mongering among, between and about sports officials and this brought me to the realisation that the progress of our sport codes has actually been kept hostage by these issues.Over the years, I have seen credible, honest and to a large extent extremely professional administrators, officials and coaches leaving the Namibian sport fraternity (in various codes) one by one. Why? Because they were either pushed out or decided to jump the ship because of people who came in with their own agendas or personal interests.Some were forced to resign as they were put under pressure to perform and deliver the impossible, while some have stuck to their guns and refused to budge and are now sidelined as most responsibilities were taken away. At the moment, most who have come in are, in my opinion, in it for their own interests, agendas and egos, while only a handful are genuine and have shown the commitment to make the change.There are those who regard themselves as the ‘big fish’ or the ‘untouchables’ in Namibian sport and see themselves as irreplaceable, hence the pathetic and rather shoddy service delivery to their electorate.I have a monumental problem with these so-called untouchables, and the fact that their presence in those positions keeps our sportsmen and -women in the starting blocks, irritates the hell out of me.Some have the audacity to personalise the sport codes, while some have simply become complacent because they are not challenged to the throne when elections come.The selfish officials who only think how to benefit from going on trips and making a quick buck have arrested the performance of our athletes. That is a fact.On the sport front, Namibia has gone two steps backward compared to 10 years ago. We have had virtually nothing to cheer about for long periods.Reason is that our sportsmen and -women don’t deliver because they are guided by people who lack the expertise, knowledge and the commitment.They don’t deliver because the officials bring their personal issues into national affairs and forget that the country comes first.I am not saying that all sport codes have incompetent leaders, but if one looks at sport in the country from a critical point of view, it has gone backwards.The Namibia Sports Commission (NSC) had an indaba earlier this year to repair the slump and look at a holistic way how to pull the sport wagon, but that overhauling process seems to have been halted in its tracks even before it started.It’s time for sport officials to change their selfish attitudes and uplift sport instead. Stop the personality clashes and unite. Prove that you are worth what you have been elected or appointed for, and put the athletes first. corry@namibian.com.na