IT appears as though the Namibian Football Association (NFA) has netted an own goal by its unexplained failure to register the national Under-23 football team for the Olympic qualifiers.
There is a strange element of protecting each other for reasons only known to the NFA hierarchy themselves since whenever officials have erred big time – those at the helm of the organization will usually take a back seat and pretend as if nothing has happened.
Failure to register the Olympic team for the global showpiece qualifiers is not only an inexcusable exercise and an embarrassment to the entire Namibian nation, it amounts to gross negligence and the culprits must be brought to book.
The lame excuses advanced by the team manager Jakes Amaning do not hold any water and this matter must be thoroughly investigated to get to the root of the problem.
What is really mind boggling is that whenever serious violations and infringements committed by those who have been entrusted to administer many a sports code are revealed – the presiding authorities, let alone the portfolio ministry would normally resolve to turn a blind eye to the potentially damaging violations.
Certainly, success will only come with good governance and as long as we persist in stationing blokes in positions that are way beyond the boundaries of their league, people whom yours truly doubt would have been able to organize a piss-up in a brewery – our football will become a delicacy for stray dogs.
Don’t burn the candle at both ends
The recent ugly debate surrounding the selection Springbok flanker, Teboho Oupa Mohoje, has prompted yours truly to revisit and carefully analyze the policy that led to the inevitable introduction of race quotas.
The unfortunate part of the quota system is that athletes of colour are labeled while it also creates the perception that if it were not for the quota they would not have been in the team. This misplaced perception is highly dangerous and could have far reaching repercussions for the progress of black athletes, so to speak.
Darkies are deliberately subjected to live with a stigma, making it extremely difficult for them to perform at their best and unleash their full potential.
This problem is not only confined to South Africa, but is also right here on our doorstep although many amongst us would dare discuss it openly, being damn scared of addressing the disparities so prevalent in many a sporting discipline.
Namibia has been independent and freed from all evils of apartheid for almost a quarter of a century but we still have in our midst people who have not embraced the concept of unification despite all sports codes supposedly to play under one umbrella.
Of course, one takes note that reality and logic suggest there should be an acceptance of unity but the embracement of change has never been properly articulated in no uncertain terms to the oppressors.
It’s indeed disappointing and very sad that whenever darkish hide athletes (indigenous Namibians) are chosen to represent their native land at elite events, they are not viewed as being there purely on merit but rather seen as stealing the place of white athletes.
To put it bluntly and without an iota of doubt, the popular belief among conservative larneys is that quotas are tailor-made to victimize athletes of European descent, which is devoid of all truths. I rest my case.