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| Editorial
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Bhamjee’s IOC Honour Should Make Us All Proud
Editor
1/16/2006 4:18:36 PM (GMT +2)
On Friday, Ismail Bhamjee, the honorary Botswana Football Association (BFA) president, became the first sports administrator in the world to receive the prestigious International Olympic Committee (IOC) Order of Merit award.
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The only other recipient of the honour is former South African president Nelson Mandela in 1994 in recognition for his anti-apartheid struggle.
The fact that the IOC award has been bestowed on a Motswana should make us all proud. It confirms Bhamjee’s status as one of the leading sports administrators in the world. The award is a just reward for a man who has contributed a lot to sports from the time he was a FIFA referee. He led the Botswana Football Association (BFA) for more than a decade and help founded the regional football body COSAFA, which he now heads. COSAFA has become Africa’s most active and lucrative football organisation. He helped establish the South African Olympic Committee. He has led the Botswana National Olympic Committee over 25 years and he is credited with taking the first Motswana competitor to the Olympics in 1980. Bhamjee was honored by the South African Football Association two years ago for his contribution to sports development. In 1998, he became the first person from Southern Africa to represent Africa in the FIFA executive committee. He has been a FIFA executive member for eight years now. Bhamjee’s record as a volunteer sports leader is legendary. He has been selfless in his service to sport. Sports is often described as a thankless job where leaders are often criticised for poor performances of the teams even when they are not directly responsible.
Bhamjee did not escape this fate. However he did not give up in his quest to contribute to sports development. He was a victim of racial abuse when he contested the CAF presidency against the incumbent Issa Hayatou in 2002. However this did not dampen his spirits as he continued to serve African football, with undying passion. On Wednesday, Bhamjee will be seeking re-election as one of Africa’s representatives at the FIFA executive. The elections will be held in Egypt, the venue for this year’s Africa Cup of Nations. We wish Bhamjee the best in his endeavors as he has shown to be a capable and gifted football leader.
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