Without going into details, it is doubtless that Africa has produced some of the best sports-persons globally. In both individual and team sports like soccer, rugby, and athletics i.e., in both track and field events, Africa has handfuls of excellently performing stars who have dominated these disciplines or set and broken hilarious records.
Whereas Africans have shown prowess and dominance in individual sporting activities, especially in track and field events like javelin, sprinting, and marathons, we are yet to prove our worth in team sports, especially in basketball, soccer, rugby, and football.
Even though many soccer players of African origin have won major international trophies like the World Cup and soccer Olympic gold medals, etc., no African participant has done it with an African country.
While individual African soccer players are scattered all over the world, excelling in soccer while representing foreign countries, the African state of soccer in terms of performance and popularity is wanting and quite insignificant on the global stage. Therefore, from a Pan-African point of view, the Afrikan Shujaa examines the state of team sport in Africa and its prospects.
We delve into the underlying reasons why African team sports in not hitting the internal bar as compared to other global participants. From a Pan-African perspective, the following are some of the reasons why Africa seems to be lagging in terms of performance and global recognition in team sports.
Africa’s Sporting Infrastructure
Team sports competitions require facilities and platforms to enable them to successfully happen. In organized team sports like varieties of football, basketball, netball, etc., there must be great if not excellent infrastructure to maximize the gains from such sporting activities.
In comparison to other overseas states, Africa seems to have a below-average sporting infrastructure. From where I sit, this was evident during the international soccer break that saw club football taking a break and soccer participants shifting focus to national team competitions and friendlies.
While watching European, Asian, American, and Arab national team competitions, there existed clear distinctions in terms of infrastructure which both directly and indirectly influenced the quality of the game. Compared to African state competitions, other fellows especially Europe, the Americas, and now Gulf states have excellent stadia with modern facilities and security systems.
Some of Africa's stars - credits The standard Ke |
Sporting infrastructure dictates a lot about sports development in a society. It is the type of infrastructure that attracts sponsorship and investment strategies that enhances the development of sport, and even foreign players and coaches.
Ideally, it is the nature of the infrastructure that attracts more support from local fans who consider security and safety factors when deciding to attend competitions and events. Therefore, Africa should shift its focus first on sporting infrastructure before looking into other factors.
Our continent’s investment in sporting activities must match international standards to allow our local talents to access the necessary exposure to pursue their dreams through talent expression. With excellent infrastructure, Africa will stand a chance in hosting international competitions that not only inspire our home-grown talents but also add weight to our economic basket through the creation of revenues and employment opportunities.
Political Instabilities in African States
Africa's Football Governing Body - Wikimedia |
Politics determines and influences every part of civilization. It is the political administration that sets the bar and direction for all if not the majority of activities in a state. Team sporting activities require a stable political environment and a politically sound administrative foundation to promote its development.
In one way or another political issues in African states affect the outcomes of organized team sports. For instance, when there are military coups in a state, it brings a stop to almost every activity. Particularly, political instabilities do not favor the thriving of team sports as they keep away investors, foreign practitioners, and experts such as coaches and players.
Additionally, when African states experience political upheavals such as those arising from general elections, public demonstrations against the government of the day, etc. as we have occasionally witnessed, this discourages the thriving of local talents and participation in national competitions.
These
instabilities shift the focus from dedicating ourselves to improving sporting
infrastructure and mobilizing and harnessing local talents to build competitive
teams and smoothly run our domestic leagues.
Poor Economic Management and Unrewarding Returns in African Team Sports
In Africa, corruption is a life-long pandemic that is ravaging every sector of the society. From where I sit, mismanagement of public resources and inadequate follow-up by the relevant authority is the root cause of all wretchedness in Africa. African states’ sporting organizations are no exception.
The majority of federations or team sports governing bodies in Africa have witnessed numerous cases of corruption where few individuals pocketed the development funds meant to improve these activities.
The main setback of the poor economic management and corruption in team sports is that participants are the ones occupying the lower end of the food chain in the corruption schemes. For instance, in the majority of Africa, if you take a keen study on the wages and salaries for players in team sporting activities like soccer, and compare it to other international domestic leagues, your findings will point you to poor or perhaps unrewarding returns.
Even though the unrewarding returns can be credited to inadequate economic investment in sports in Africa, corruption worsens the situation. While federation heads and sports ministers are smiling their way to the bank, players who make them rich have nothing to show for their talent in Africa. This is the reason why most African soccer players prefer to change their citizenship or seek greener pastures in Europe, Asia, the Americas, or Arab states.
In Parting
In a nutshell, team sporting activities like soccer, rugby, netball, etc. unlike individual competitions require maximum cooperation and support from and within the state governments. To improve the state of team sports in Africa and secure its future, our leaders must provide the necessary environment that supports the development of these activities.
For starters, the sporting infrastructure must be excellent. This excellency should encompass sporting arenas and stadia, and relevant modern technology that encourages game lovers to participate as fans through uninterrupted access either virtually or in person. Sporting attires must match international standards and not showcase mediocrity in any manner.
Recently, the legendary Mercedes racer Lewis Hamilton expressed his desire and eagerness to have a Formula One race in Africa. The South Africa-born Formula One race driver was indirectly stating that Africa needs to work on its sports infrastructure to be able to host these international competitions.
This is a challenge to the African sporting leadership to work on their all-round sporting infrastructure to be part of the global sporting community in terms of hosting major competitions.
Finally, African states should ensure that their political agendas are favoring the thrive of team sports. Political leaders must not use sporting events merely as campaign stages but should ensure that they have the sport's best interests at heart.
Additionally, our state governments must ensure that sporting activities receive adequate economic investments. This requires politically stable countries where corruption and mismanagement of resources are condemned and counteracted with integrity, unwavering patriotism, and vigilance. Only then will sports participant enjoy their fully deserved rewards to improve their living standards and motivate the upcoming generation.
According to the words of the world greatest marathoner, Eluid Kipchoge,
Sports can unite Kenyans, and a united Kenya is a peaceful Kenya.
This message is for all African nation- states, and our leaders should be the forefront runners in uniting out people, especially through organized team sport
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