The opening ceremony is not the real deal!

Dennis Keagile | Friday May 30, 2014 10:31

On that aspect, Botswana did not disappoint, but we all know that the opening ceremony is meant to motivate people to come to the Games.

It is not the real deal. The real deal is the performance on the pitch and the harmonious coordination of the Games.

Botswana’s performance to date has been dismal to say the least. If anything, we are still far in terms of grass root development. We do not have any excuses why we cannot be great.

I therefore call upon the powers that be, especially the first citizen of the country President Ian Khama together with the acting Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, Vincent Seretse, the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) and the Botswana National Sports Council (BNSC) to go back to the drawing board.

The BNSC is entrusted with grass root sport development, while the BNOC is supposed to be dealing with elite sport. There is however a fine line that one can use to differentiate between the two as they seem to fight for the limelight at times. Several research have indicated that Botswana ought to invest a lot in youth development if the country is to be a force to reckon with on the international scene.

Numerous blue-prints by various sports codes have been produced, but many of them have not seen the light of day. Long ago, the BNSC announced its vision for 2020 following the lapse of the 2012 vision, which gave Botswana its first silver medal at the 2012 Olympic Games. Ordinarily I would have expected to see a continuation or an increase in the medal count at international level, but regrettably it is not the case. By now, we should be having other Amantle Montshos and Nigel Amoses.

My plea therefore is directed at the President and in particular the constituency league. Given that Botswana is still lagging behind in many aspects like sports science, coaching, administration and equipment, I urge President Khama to shed some of the constituency league budget and direct it towards mainstream sport, especially grass root development.

There is a school of thought that if there has to be a reduction in substance and alcohol abuse, the target should be the primary school children and junior secondary.

In this way, the country can produce athletes of note. In its current format, the constituency league is just a recreational event whose effect from a competitive nature and nurturing discipline does not add much value to mainstream sport. The amount of money that has been spent on the league is way too much if we take into consideration the challenges facing mainstream sport, particularly grass root development.

I expect to see a lot of collaboration between the Botswana Institute Sports Association (BISA) and the various sporting codes in the country. But there is still a gap in schools as apparently, the problem of extra curricula activities has not been adequately solved as the Ministry of Education pays a lot of overtime allowance for teachers who engage in sport.

Obviously the management will impose restrictions on teachers much to the detriment of athletes.  Schools of excellence should be established in all the major centres and districts so as to harness talent at a tender age. I therefore want government to have a policy in place that over and above the budget for sport, it will reserve say 40 percent of the gross revenue from the Alcohol Levy for sport development. In this way, we can see the fast tracking  of sports development at all levels. I really want to see the BNSC, the Department of Sports and Recreation and BNOC put pressure on the government. The trio ought to speak with one voice and sing from the same hymn book.

We cannot afford to host big events and be a laughing stock on the pitch. I guess the BNSC or the BNOC will be as candid as possible when evaluating the performance of Botswana.

There shouldn’t be any sugar coating. The evaluation should be as brutally honest as possible and give out a blue print or recommendations as to how fast the gap can be closed. Other countries are going to double their efforts after this event.

 

Zebras

The Zebras’ moment of truth comes this weekend when it hosts Burundi in the second leg of the AFCON qualifiers. After the goalless draw in the first leg, the Zebras cannot afford a draw and have to win at all costs. This therefore means that the Botswana Football Association ought to rally the nation to Lobatse. If it means renting a crowd let it be, for the team has to proceed to the next level and hopefully the group stage.

The entry charge should be reduced especially that Lobatse is a bit far from Gaborone where the majority of people will come from.

As for coach Peter Butler, talking willy-nilly about any stuff or player is not professionalism. If the association did not give him a code of conduct, it better do so fast.

It is one thing to be outspoken, but another to have a loose tongue. Guaranteed, we understand and appreciate some of his frustrations, but speaking ill of your players or lamenting about your challenges in social media is not a mark of professionalism or ethical behaviour. The coach should strive to avoid tit for tat kind of situations or playing to the gallery for there will be good times and bad times. Otherwise, I say good luck to the team.