Why sport should get priority at stadiums

Mqondisi Dube | Monday September 12, 2022 16:00

The stadium was booked for a church service between Friday and Sunday morning. GU had to settle for a 6pm kick-off yesterday and thankfully, reason prevailed to ensure the match goes ahead.

There was the expensive option of shifting the match to the Obed Itani Chilume Stadium in Francistown. But GU director, Nicholas Zakhem was insistent the game would go ahead at the National Stadium at 6pm on Sunday.

His utterances that sport activities should be given priority over any other activity drew the ire of some. Others chose to see it as blasphemy. Zakhem’s crime was that he mentioned that where he comes from, a stadium is primarily for sport activities.

He was stoned left, right and centre as critics descended on him, others demanding an apology. Some even went as far as demanding that he ‘goes back to his country’. It was indeed stooping low as most left the ball and went hard in for the man. What was supposed to be debated within context was his call for sports to be given priority at sports facilities, not discussing his personal issues.

His personal issues or ‘dark past’ has its own space and time. Those have nothing to do with the booking of the National Stadium for a church service. Granted, the National Stadium is not exclusively a sport facility; other events are frequently held there, including national ceremonies. But this should not take away the fact that primarily the stadium is a sport facility; its design says it all.

Holding any other event does not lessen the burden of the National Stadium being primarily a venue for sports. Other events like music festivals and church services have alternative venues other than stadiums. Botswana has only two CAF approved stadiums, being the National Stadium and the Obed Itani Chilume while there are countless other alternative venues for other activities. Yes, the organisers of those events have a right to choose where they want to hold their functions and maximise on attendance or profits.

The Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) also has to generate revenue for the maintenance of these facilities, so they are bound to accept whatever legal booking that comes their way. But the fact that the custodian of stadiums is a sport body says a lot about what is supposed to be prioritised. Stadiums fall under the SPORT commission, not some other general body without a specific mandate.

The BNSC’s mandate is to look after its affiliates, which include Gaborone United through the Botswana Football Association (BFA). Maybe GU’s sin was of assumption; assuming that they will be given priority, forgetting that any other event can be booked for the use of the stadium. However, as a sport body, the BNSC was supposed to allow the provisional booking for the church service subject to the CAF club fixtures.

It was also GU’s duty to check the availability of the venue well in advance and not just expect automatic booking. The fight over the National Stadium also brings to the fore the need to address the issues of stadiums.

The Lobatse Sports Complex should be hosting international matches, but keeps failing the CAF test. The blame is at the doorstep of the BNSC as the custodian of the facility. The hope is that lessons have been learnt and there was no need for unnecessary tantrums thrown from either side; those arguing for and those against. What is irritatingly apparent is that most recent football debates are now along GU/Township Rollers lines.