Why are there no funds to prepare teams but plenty cash as reward?

Mqondisi Dube | Wednesday July 10, 2024 09:17

This appears to be a concerning trend where there is reward at the end of the day, but there are zero funds to prepare athletes before a tournament. Recently, the Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport, and Culture, Tumiso Rakgare, indicated that athletes who participated at the Africa Senior Championships in Cameroon, would get P50, 000 for gold, P30, 000 for silver and P20, 000 for bronze. With the talent that Botswana poses in athletics and with a fairly large contingent, the government could easily have paid P1million in prize money. This money it seems, is always readily available, or may be its shifted from other votes as and when athletes win. But the same money is nowhere to be found for the team's preparations. There is everything right with rewarding athletes for their sweat, after all the ultimate aim is to make a living out of their chosen careers.

And we appreciate that sports is usually a short career and athletes must amass as much as possible in a short space. But it will appear the approach by local authorities is unsustainable as there is not much attention paid to the seed that is planted. Focus has been placed on the fruit or the harvest regardless of the input. As it stands the netball team will not make it to the annual Singapore Nations Cup, a useful tournament that has become a permanent feature for Botswana players. The reason is that there are no funds. This story is just an island in a sea of such sad scenarios. Countless teams are told they are unable to travel due to lack of funds. But if they miraculously travel, upon return, all of a sudden the cash is available. It will only be appropriate to put the horse before the cart. Channel funds towards preparations, ensure the team trains and camps well, then the fruits will naturally follow.

The administrators should not short circuit the system, otherwise it will result in shocks (excuse the pun). On another related matter, it is good to see women’s football blossom. The Botswana Football Association (BFA) in as much as it receives criticism for other slip-ups, should be equally commended for seeing that the women’s game is on the right trajectory. However, the Diamond Trading Company Botswana (DTCB) women’s championships played over the weekend, exposed glaring mismatches. We should not be witnessing 25-0 score lines in the finals. That is embarrassing and should not be celebrated. Instead, it should trigger soul searching. It means the structure of the tournament should be revised and that other regions are comparatively weaker than Gaborone. Finals by nature should be exciting and closely contested. Rather than giving Gaborone United or Double Action (the obvious winners at the end of the day) P250,000 first prize money, instead capacitate all teams through grants. The BFA must try and level the playing field as much as possible. Obviously some teams will remain stronger than others, but giving them the financial power and technical support will help narrow the gap and spare us these lopsided and predictable finals.