the monitor

Football awards reduced to a popularity contest

The inaugural Botswana Football Association (BFA) awards have come and gone and the mother body must be commended for its move to reward excellence.

But in the excitement of hosting the first ever BFA awards, some logic appears to have been lost. The awards, like in any contest, brewed some shockers due to the manner in which the competition was tailored. For starters, awards that are given based on a public voting system are not likely to be objective and do not give a balanced outcome. The voting reduces the whole process into a popularity contest. Only those that garner more votes will win, sadly sending merit flying out of the window. Merit should be the bedrock of any process that seeks to reward excellence. But it looks like the cash-strappred BFA probably had an eye and a half eye on the money to be generated from the votes.

It is understandable that the BFA is keen to widen its revenue streams, but at the same time people should not lose sight of the underlying reasons for having an event like the one for Saturday, that is, to reward excellence. Instead of recognising and rewarding excelling individuals, at the end of the day, it became a trophy for the popular. I have nothing against TAFIC (in fact I am a fan of their Facebook page administrator) but how were they paraded as the best team for winning a regional competition baffles the mind. Galaxy and Gaborone United won national competitions in the league and the Orange FA Cup respectively. In terms of weighting, these two competitions have more value compared to winning the First Division title, unless if I am missing something. What sets TAFIC apart from Matebele, who were winners of the same First Division competition in their respective region? What is Granada FC's claim to fame other than that they had more family and relatives voting for the team?

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