Today, a lot of people in the sport fraternity are thinking through their feelings, emotions and egos, and it is evident in what they say and how they act. Sport, on the other hand, has never been about the ego, emotions or positions.
Sport symbolises the quest for excellence and to teach people about life, inspiring people and being instrumental about the importance of teamwork.
We are lacking drastically in these areas in our sport fraternity. What we have been witnessing lately in our local papers, social media pages and in the press is not about excellence and it is not teaching us lessons about teamwork, excellence or unity.
It is disappointing to see athletes suffer because of administrators who cannot amicably solve issues, making decisions to feed their ego. We need to learn there’s a time and place for politics – just as there is a time and place for sport. No enterprise is the same when the two are mixed.
When sport and politics mix, it can be disastrous in many ways. During times of extreme political tension, it can be dangerous for administrators, players, coaches or others associated with sport to be overly provocative in expressing their political opinions. Fights could break out in the offices between administrators, coaches or even players with opposing standpoints.
Our local football administrators have demonstrated that when a sport professional feels passionate about a political issue, they lose their professionalism, make decisions and express their views in ways that are extremely offensive to their oppositions, without considering the consequences faced by athletes, fans and other stakeholders involved. It is very important we put measures in place to prevent this from happening again in future.
The advice I will preach today is that if you are involved in sport and politics, or if you have strong political views, it is important to consider the consequences of mixing these two interests. Though rewarding and fulfilling, mixing these two spheres can lead to a massive catastrophe.
The bottom line is sport and politics are among the most popular interests of the general population. Though fascinating and fulfilling within their spheres, these two very different topics do not tend to make a good combination. Hence, it should be a priority to install prevention measures to avoid the mixture of sport and politics.
*Stefan Ngolo is a sport enthusiast and sport education scholar. He can be reached at ngoloset@gmail.com