Karate, football now chess, what’s going on?

Mqondisi Dube | Monday January 29, 2024 15:11

These are the most recent public spates within sports bodies, which should leave the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) as the guardian of sport, worried. There are several others fighting behind the scenes as most escape public scrutiny. It is worrying times for sport and the BNSC should dig deep to fight the root of the problem. Not that the BNSC can, to overnight stop the fights, but it could be pointing to a bigger problem in the manner in which it could also bring into question the calibre of people pursing public office.

Most go into office promising changes and within months, affiliates are disgruntled. It leads to coups as the continuous removal of leaders is becoming the bane eating into local sport. Writing on his Facebook page recently, former sports minister, Thapelo Olopeng said football wars are nothing surprising as they also persisted during his time. It is now a bad culture developing across codes and being taken to be normal. Maladministration is probably the most cited excuse for the coup de tats that are scattered all over sports. When the football fights broke out, the Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare, was quick to issue a statement condemning the situation. If all animals in the BNSC stable were equal, then the minister was expected to make a swift intervention with other codes as well. But football is the more appealing and has more gravitas compared to the rest. Therefore most will prefer to be seen to be doing something at a code that has mass appeal, leaving the so-called minority disciplines to pummel each other undetected in the background.

Most sports leaders have told us how a thankless job it is as they sacrifice their time and resource. But you wonder why most are prepared to be involved in unending pig mud fights at the expense of soiling their reputation. They seem not to mind the dirt and then you ask yourself, what is in there for them? Surely it cannot be only about the love of the game; there is something more to that. Sadly, the situation has kept out men and women of clout who could add immense value to sport, but they don't want to be associated with all the dirt that is now found in the game.

The BNSC should not feel powerless in this situation, as granted, it’s difficult to micro manage each code but the gains of fighting the ills outweigh the disadvantages. There has to be some form of intervention to ensure that the back sliding stops or is at least reduced, least sport becomes a game of mudslinging and mudslingers.