Sport has a place in the heart of Namibian people. We are, from a fan’s perspective, a sporting nation. This country has produced champions in different disciplines. Boxers Harry Simon, Paulus Moses and Paulus Ambunda have brought home world titles. Frank Fredericks won Namibia’s first ever Olympic medal, while Elifas ‘Safile’ Shivute, Collin Benjamin and others excelled in Europe’s big football leagues such as German’s Bundesliga and the Scottish Premier League.
The performance of our leading sportsmen and women is a constant topic of conversation and probably the single area of national life taking up most discourse at various platforms.
High-profile national sporting success creates pride and helps to promote our national identity, especially for a multi-cultural society like ours, while participation builds friendships, communities and a sense of achievement. Sport touches the life of almost everyone as a participant, administrator, coach or spectator.
Namibia’s performance at the ongoing Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has been appalling. We could choose to pinpoint an avalanche of problem areas that contributed to our substandard performance at this event – but topping that list would arguably be our lukewarm investment in sport.
Participation in sport is still strongly linked with individuals’ social and economic circumstances and not everyone has an equal opportunity to enjoy the sport of their choice. Yet there has been great stories of rags-to-riches involving Namibian sportspersons who – out of sheer determination and heart – excelled in their respective codes.
Elsewhere in the world, excellence in sport is strongly linked to support and affluence – something that generally lacks in our country.
Our athletes in Rio were whipping boys and girls of other nations. Our marathon runners finished out of the top 40, while our boxers were virtually punching bags for citizens of other nations.
True, in sport winning and losing are the most common results. In fact there is, generally speaking, no shame in losing a sporting match. However, what has happening in Rio is a trend – a trend of a losing streak.
Such a trend cannot be a result of sheer bad luck. It has its roots in deeper issues befalling our administration of sport, including funding.
Funding of national sporting events remains a sole obligation of government and a responsibility of all of us. The private sector has no obligation towards investment in sport, but it has a responsibility to do so. Yet, blatantly put, such responsibility remains voluntary.
There is to sport a huge element of national pride. And perhaps that is the only lens through which we see the essence of sport. We hardly see the business and commercial side of sport. Sport is an industry – a billion-dollar industry in countries that make huge investments in this field.
Pumping money into sport should be seen as a long-term investment, whose fruits would be realised over a sustained period of time.
Investment in sport must be designed in such a manner that it strives to deliver world-class results and performance at events like the ongoing games in Rio.
Over the past five years, the business of sport has become a £20 billion-a-year industry in the UK, supporting some 450,000 jobs. But it has not always been that way.
Only 30 years ago, business and sport were rarely mentioned in the same breath. Football was beset by crowd trouble, old stadiums and a lack of external funding. The Olympic games had suffered major boycotts, in 1980 and 1984, and potential bidding cities were deterred by the vast losses and legacy issues of previous hosts.
These are the hard lessons from which Namibia must learn.