SEDIBENG.- “The Creator has placed me in sports. My ministry is on the field. We serve athletes to grow our society.”
These were the words of the late and former chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Sport, Butana Komphela. Zakes’ Sports Corner believe these words are still relevant today. The biggest challenge in football is to stay together and win together. Sport is dying in our community because we mix it with politics.
The truth is that as development coaches and administrators you serve communities in order for them to grow – like Komphela said.
Zakes’ Sports Corner is of the opinion that there is a lot that needs to be corrected in the development of our sports, particularly in football. That is why they refer to it as the number one sport in the world. This tells you something, to say the least. However, we take it for granted because in the past football was known as a poor man’s sport for some reason. But now the same sport that claims to be in a top position worldwide is slowly dying in parts of our country due to politics.
Gone are the days when men and women work, play, win and lose together in football. Politics overshadow the productivity in the field of play. Sedibeng used to be a feeder-region to South African football when it came to players, administrators, coaches and referees. Whatever is happening with the South African Football Association Sedibeng Inter Regional Play-offs is a typical example of politics dominating football. How can play-offs be postponed for a third time? Really! The truth is that there is lack of accountability.
What have we done to deserve this kind of situation?
Komphela’s words should ring in our ears!
