|
Who the cap fits...
Those who follow sports beyond our borders will have been looking forward to this weekend. The Olympics are under way in Athens, Greece, and most soccer leagues in Europe are also kicking off. The boredom that characterised weekends of most television viewers in recent months has finally come to an end.
Whatever some people may say, the English Premier continues to be a major attraction among most soccer lovers in the country and its popularity steadily grows. With the changes that have taken place during the summer both on and off the pitch around the clubs, there is a lot of anxiety as to what the new season has in store.
As a Liverpool fan, I am also looking forward to the new season with a lot of optimism. It may be too early to talk of winning the title this season, but one thing that I am eager to put my money on is that there will be no 30-point gap with Arsenal this year. I can’t see another three-tier league this time.
Last year you had the Gunners in their own league, followed by Chelsea and Manchester United in another and the Reds leading the rest of them. This time I expect improvements in Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Middlesbrough which should help narrow the gaps.
Back home, for the sake of one Mzati Nkolokosa. This is one person who gets put off when I discuss foreign news and I am not about to lose any of my few readers.
Thursday’s daily papers talked about Fam forfeiting its annual subvention from Fifa because of government’s failure to waive taxes on the Goal Project in Chiwembe Blantyre. If I get principal secretary Charles Gunsaru properly, the problem is that Fam erred in applying for the waiver.
If indeed that is the only problem, why did government not just advise the association on how to go about it? Was it not just a matter of picking up the phone or writing to the association to show the people the way? I sense lack of honesty here.
But perhaps government was only going to offer help where it was sought. Fam may have just gone ahead with the process without seeking advice and one cannot put it past them. In that case, the association’s overzealousness has proved costly.
The fact that they will not get money from world body is particularly tragic because Fam is not known for its creativity. It is a body that survives on benevolence and has no ideas of its own to generate income. Actually it does not enjoy a good enough reputation financially to court sympathy from anyone who would want to work with it in any partnership.
Which is why the next elections are very important. I have harped about quality leadership for a long time and there is no doubt that we have not had it in Fam for a long time. Of particular interest to me is the position of president and I have been attracted by the names that are flying around in the media.
The good thing is that we know something about all those hopefuls. I hope the voters will not compromise on the issues of education, corruption and steadfastness. Only those who have proved to have a genuine interest to improve the game and not their public image should be considered for that hot seat. Who the cap fits, let them wear it.
|
