Sport in Africa: The Government
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Main Author: Hassan Fofana Sports Consultant & Field Agent contact: time2ballinc@gmail.com twitter: @Time2ballinc facebook: facebook.com/Time2Ball
__________________________________________
Sport in Africa: The Government
The government is to blame for not implementing appropriate strategies and policies that will allow the African economy to flourish by taking advantage of the sport industry, worth over a billion dollars. It is clear that the African government has a lot on its hand, as Ghanaian Vice President Mr. Dramani Mahama would attest; but the least that they can do as lawmakers is to set standards and expectations that encourage wealthy individuals or successful major businesses to invest in sport. In the US, for example, the tax system is designed such that major corporations, as well as individuals, are encouraged to make charitable donations to non-profit organizations, not necessarily because they buy into the organizations’ missions, but because of the attractive tax deduction benefits. The African government can be similarly impactful in setting in motion a culture that expects significant financial investment in sport by governmental and non-governmental organizations and philanthropists.
At least some African government officials have taken steps to set such changes in motion. There is, however, much more work to be done. At the opening ceremony of the second Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Games in Ghana, Mahama, representing his Excellency the President of Ghana Mr. John Atta Mills, stated, “Sports have become big business in the world and, therefore, the private sectors can partner [with] government in sponsoring sports as government alone cannot promote sports in the area[s] of the provision of infrastructure and financing of teams to competition. Government has a lot on its hand, but with the involvement of the private sector, sports development would be given a massive boost. ” I appreciate the level of honesty from Mr. Mahama in stating that the “government has a lot on its hands…” Furthermore, I acknowledge and respect the fact that both the President and the Vice President are taking the initiative to become advocates for sport in Africa. Finally, the African youth have a voice in his Excellency Mr. Mills. The Ghanaian President called upon all African leaders to invest in sports in order to eradicate “…the social vices and wars plaguing…Africa and to use sports to promote peace and unity”. It is about time that we have an African leader who recognizes the power of sport. On behalf of the African youth, for sport and for the promotion of a business that could potentially create thousands of jobs, I appreciate this public statement of support. For that reason, I will grant them a pass; however, admitting that the African government has its hands full is an excuse that is unacceptable.
One of my idols, Mahatma Gandhi, stated "You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” I will strongly encourage both of them to be more than just advocates and, rather, take the necessary actions and be the examples of change by additionally implementing laws and policies at the continental level, as well as locally, that will get both the private sector and members of the government involved in the development of sport in Africa.
Africa is one of the largest and youngest populations in the world. Furthermore, amongst the international professional clubs and leagues of the majority of sports, including soccer, basketball, boxing, track and field, rugby and handball, one can identify at least two or more African athletes. Other countries have recognized and benefited from the potential of the African youth except Africa.
With all that said, let us get one thing straight. Talent alone does not develop sport in Africa; however, it is a start and the motivation is there amongst young, talented Africans wanting to work their ways out of poverty, towards college and professional sports. It is the lack of initiative from the government that prevents the African youth from excelling. How the African government has failed to sufficiently invest in sports will be discussed next.
Entrepreneurship - Sport is a multibillion dollar industry that is supported by and supports countless businesses, such as sports clothing and apparel, advertising, food and beverage and broadcast media. African nations do not have efficient strategies that can encourage such entrepreneurship around sports. For the few entrepreneurs who create new businesses, they are over-taxed which eventually either results in failure of their businesses or relocation elsewhere. African youth can certainly benefit from growing up within a society with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. They will be innovative and competitive.
Corruption and Incompetence of Government Officials - Corruption and incompetence plague countless ministries of sports throughout Africa. Each ministry is provided a large budget, but instead of spending the funds on what is actually necessary to develop the sport in the respective countries, government officials and leaders are more concerned with the size of their bank accounts, which expensive Western schools their children will attend or how many houses they buy their mistresses. These officials therefore spend their genius coming up with various strategies to spend less than 20, sometimes less than 40 percent of the budget on sports.
A side note about African government officials sending their children off to foreign Western schools: You would think that the members of the government will take the initiative to promote the local education system and show the population that the system is so damn good by sending their children to local educational institutions rather than promoting Western universities. Come on! Let’s be patriotic.
As an American, you are probably asking what is the checks and balances policy or better yet who audits these ministries? You might even look at it as a great thing because at least you will remain the most dominant in sport. Africans are as athletic as us Americans, but they don’t have the proper training, facilities or equipment to perfect their skills, whereas Europeans have these resources, but they are not as athletic. So, there is no need to worry. As a European, you are probably saying that at least they are spending up to 40 percent of the budget on the designated target and, as long as they keep the embezzled monies in the Swiss bank, we don’t really care because soon we can leak the necessary information out to the public and they will do they rest, by that I mean supply them with the necessary information to create chaos amongst the government. At the end, we get to keep the money while the respective individuals try to justify how and why their bank accounts are full of millions of dollars when their annual salary is supposed to be less than $100,000.00! As an Asian, you just pray that Americans and Europeans continue to publicize the continent African negatively so that you can go in and pretend to be the good guy, while establishing yourself as the new colonizer, offering your poisonous aid. And, last but not least, as an African, you are probably saying, “What the fuck? This corruption shit has to stop and people need to stop thinking that they know our problems better than us.” But you don’t want to take the initiative to protest because of the following reasons: (i) if you organize a protest, there is a high likelihood that it will turn violent; therefore, you will fail your mission; (ii) if the protest goes as planned and if they don’t kill you, you will most likely be offered some big $$$$ and hopefully a nice position in the government so you can keep quiet; or (iii) if the protest goes as planned and you are not killed or bought out, eventually people will lose interest or the government will pay you lip-service by making false promises and probably firing a few people so that people will calm down. The cycle will then begin again once everyone returns home because we, Africans, don’t hold our government accountable for their promises and performance. Now is the time, however, for Africans to begin to hold their government accountable and to stop settling for mediocre leadership. We need leadership that will make government officials competitive with respect to their performance, not their supernatural powers, and their leadership that will take care of the youth, protecting them rather than turning them into child soldiers. Government needs to usher children in sports, not civil war.
As stated above, the contributing factor to the underdeveloped sports industry in Africa is a combination of corruption and incompetence. Let us assume that I am wrong and that the various sport ministries in Africa do not have larger budgets to fund all the sports activities, including promoting and governing the local annual athletic championships at the professional, amateur or interscholastic levels, investing in local sports organizations and developing sport infrastructures (stadiums, training facilities and equipment). Let me quickly list three ways in which a ministry of sport can generate funding locally or globally, provided that someone within the government knows what he or she is doing. Three major industries that generate billions of $$$$ annually with respect to sport are broadcasting rights, marketing (advertising and sponsorship) and sales. Take the upcoming 2012 London Olympics as an example. According to a July, 2012 Financial Times article, broadcasting rights for the entire Olympics competition will generate $3.9 billion ; ticket sales are estimated at $1.04 billion; and, as for sponsorship, significant debate currently surrounds the Olympic committee’s decision to allow fast-food chain McDonald’s to continue sponsoring the games with mounting concerns about the global obesity crisis. I am sympathetic to the obesity crisis; however, the point here is that millions of dollars are at stake if the Olympics committee were to drop McDonald as their sponsor.
These numbers exemplify the profitability of the sport industry and the case that I am trying to make, that is that the African government needs to get their act together and put the necessary plans in place to start investing in infrastructures (sporting arenas, airports, roads, etc.) such that we can be competitive in applying to be the next host of a major global sporting event such as the World Cup, the Olympic games, the Goodwill Games, Wimbledon and others. Yes, I am aware that other Western or developed countries would never vote for an African nation to host such a massive event because they would not want to lose out on the significant financial opportunity in hosting the event themselves. It took far too long for an African country to win the opportunity to host the World Cup as South Africa did in 2010. This gives me a reason to believe that anything is possible if the African government focus their time and effort on taking advantage of this billion dollar business of sport.
Government is not a Family Business
In this closing section, I am going to be brief, direct and bold to all of my fellow Africans. Africa is at the bottom of the shelf for many reasons; but one thing that is obvious is the fact that most of the government officials are incompetent. They spend most of the time in their offices pretending that they are working while either taking a nap or using the government property such as the phone or vehicles for personal reasons. Some come to work in the company of friends or relatives. Amongst lower ranked workers, some come to work late and leave early, but since nepotism has allowed them to work under their relatives as their bosses, other diligent and hardworking employees cannot or will not say anything at the risk of losing their jobs. The government workplace is not and should not be a family business. In this day and age, the sport industry throughout the world is very competitive because there are significant opportunities to earn funding through adverting, sponsorships, naming rights for sport facilities or championships and corporate partnerships, amongst others. To truly run a dynamic sports industry, you need to have the right candidate formulating and implementing the best strategies and initiatives that will generate revenue, move sports in Africa forward and help African youth capitalize on their natural talents and interests in sport.
Main Author: Hassan Fofana Sports Consultant & Field Agent contact: time2ballinc@gmail.com twitter: @Time2ballinc facebook: facebook.com/Time2Ball
__________________________________________
Sport in Africa: The Government
by Hassan Fofana
The government is to blame for not implementing appropriate strategies and policies that will allow the African economy to flourish by taking advantage of the sport industry, worth over a billion dollars. It is clear that the African government has a lot on its hand, as Ghanaian Vice President Mr. Dramani Mahama would attest; but the least that they can do as lawmakers is to set standards and expectations that encourage wealthy individuals or successful major businesses to invest in sport. In the US, for example, the tax system is designed such that major corporations, as well as individuals, are encouraged to make charitable donations to non-profit organizations, not necessarily because they buy into the organizations’ missions, but because of the attractive tax deduction benefits. The African government can be similarly impactful in setting in motion a culture that expects significant financial investment in sport by governmental and non-governmental organizations and philanthropists.
At least some African government officials have taken steps to set such changes in motion. There is, however, much more work to be done. At the opening ceremony of the second Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Games in Ghana, Mahama, representing his Excellency the President of Ghana Mr. John Atta Mills, stated, “Sports have become big business in the world and, therefore, the private sectors can partner [with] government in sponsoring sports as government alone cannot promote sports in the area[s] of the provision of infrastructure and financing of teams to competition. Government has a lot on its hand, but with the involvement of the private sector, sports development would be given a massive boost. ” I appreciate the level of honesty from Mr. Mahama in stating that the “government has a lot on its hands…” Furthermore, I acknowledge and respect the fact that both the President and the Vice President are taking the initiative to become advocates for sport in Africa. Finally, the African youth have a voice in his Excellency Mr. Mills. The Ghanaian President called upon all African leaders to invest in sports in order to eradicate “…the social vices and wars plaguing…Africa and to use sports to promote peace and unity”. It is about time that we have an African leader who recognizes the power of sport. On behalf of the African youth, for sport and for the promotion of a business that could potentially create thousands of jobs, I appreciate this public statement of support. For that reason, I will grant them a pass; however, admitting that the African government has its hands full is an excuse that is unacceptable.
One of my idols, Mahatma Gandhi, stated "You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” I will strongly encourage both of them to be more than just advocates and, rather, take the necessary actions and be the examples of change by additionally implementing laws and policies at the continental level, as well as locally, that will get both the private sector and members of the government involved in the development of sport in Africa.
Africa is one of the largest and youngest populations in the world. Furthermore, amongst the international professional clubs and leagues of the majority of sports, including soccer, basketball, boxing, track and field, rugby and handball, one can identify at least two or more African athletes. Other countries have recognized and benefited from the potential of the African youth except Africa.
With all that said, let us get one thing straight. Talent alone does not develop sport in Africa; however, it is a start and the motivation is there amongst young, talented Africans wanting to work their ways out of poverty, towards college and professional sports. It is the lack of initiative from the government that prevents the African youth from excelling. How the African government has failed to sufficiently invest in sports will be discussed next.
Entrepreneurship - Sport is a multibillion dollar industry that is supported by and supports countless businesses, such as sports clothing and apparel, advertising, food and beverage and broadcast media. African nations do not have efficient strategies that can encourage such entrepreneurship around sports. For the few entrepreneurs who create new businesses, they are over-taxed which eventually either results in failure of their businesses or relocation elsewhere. African youth can certainly benefit from growing up within a society with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. They will be innovative and competitive.
Corruption and Incompetence of Government Officials - Corruption and incompetence plague countless ministries of sports throughout Africa. Each ministry is provided a large budget, but instead of spending the funds on what is actually necessary to develop the sport in the respective countries, government officials and leaders are more concerned with the size of their bank accounts, which expensive Western schools their children will attend or how many houses they buy their mistresses. These officials therefore spend their genius coming up with various strategies to spend less than 20, sometimes less than 40 percent of the budget on sports.
A side note about African government officials sending their children off to foreign Western schools: You would think that the members of the government will take the initiative to promote the local education system and show the population that the system is so damn good by sending their children to local educational institutions rather than promoting Western universities. Come on! Let’s be patriotic.
As an American, you are probably asking what is the checks and balances policy or better yet who audits these ministries? You might even look at it as a great thing because at least you will remain the most dominant in sport. Africans are as athletic as us Americans, but they don’t have the proper training, facilities or equipment to perfect their skills, whereas Europeans have these resources, but they are not as athletic. So, there is no need to worry. As a European, you are probably saying that at least they are spending up to 40 percent of the budget on the designated target and, as long as they keep the embezzled monies in the Swiss bank, we don’t really care because soon we can leak the necessary information out to the public and they will do they rest, by that I mean supply them with the necessary information to create chaos amongst the government. At the end, we get to keep the money while the respective individuals try to justify how and why their bank accounts are full of millions of dollars when their annual salary is supposed to be less than $100,000.00! As an Asian, you just pray that Americans and Europeans continue to publicize the continent African negatively so that you can go in and pretend to be the good guy, while establishing yourself as the new colonizer, offering your poisonous aid. And, last but not least, as an African, you are probably saying, “What the fuck? This corruption shit has to stop and people need to stop thinking that they know our problems better than us.” But you don’t want to take the initiative to protest because of the following reasons: (i) if you organize a protest, there is a high likelihood that it will turn violent; therefore, you will fail your mission; (ii) if the protest goes as planned and if they don’t kill you, you will most likely be offered some big $$$$ and hopefully a nice position in the government so you can keep quiet; or (iii) if the protest goes as planned and you are not killed or bought out, eventually people will lose interest or the government will pay you lip-service by making false promises and probably firing a few people so that people will calm down. The cycle will then begin again once everyone returns home because we, Africans, don’t hold our government accountable for their promises and performance. Now is the time, however, for Africans to begin to hold their government accountable and to stop settling for mediocre leadership. We need leadership that will make government officials competitive with respect to their performance, not their supernatural powers, and their leadership that will take care of the youth, protecting them rather than turning them into child soldiers. Government needs to usher children in sports, not civil war.
As stated above, the contributing factor to the underdeveloped sports industry in Africa is a combination of corruption and incompetence. Let us assume that I am wrong and that the various sport ministries in Africa do not have larger budgets to fund all the sports activities, including promoting and governing the local annual athletic championships at the professional, amateur or interscholastic levels, investing in local sports organizations and developing sport infrastructures (stadiums, training facilities and equipment). Let me quickly list three ways in which a ministry of sport can generate funding locally or globally, provided that someone within the government knows what he or she is doing. Three major industries that generate billions of $$$$ annually with respect to sport are broadcasting rights, marketing (advertising and sponsorship) and sales. Take the upcoming 2012 London Olympics as an example. According to a July, 2012 Financial Times article, broadcasting rights for the entire Olympics competition will generate $3.9 billion ; ticket sales are estimated at $1.04 billion; and, as for sponsorship, significant debate currently surrounds the Olympic committee’s decision to allow fast-food chain McDonald’s to continue sponsoring the games with mounting concerns about the global obesity crisis. I am sympathetic to the obesity crisis; however, the point here is that millions of dollars are at stake if the Olympics committee were to drop McDonald as their sponsor.
These numbers exemplify the profitability of the sport industry and the case that I am trying to make, that is that the African government needs to get their act together and put the necessary plans in place to start investing in infrastructures (sporting arenas, airports, roads, etc.) such that we can be competitive in applying to be the next host of a major global sporting event such as the World Cup, the Olympic games, the Goodwill Games, Wimbledon and others. Yes, I am aware that other Western or developed countries would never vote for an African nation to host such a massive event because they would not want to lose out on the significant financial opportunity in hosting the event themselves. It took far too long for an African country to win the opportunity to host the World Cup as South Africa did in 2010. This gives me a reason to believe that anything is possible if the African government focus their time and effort on taking advantage of this billion dollar business of sport.
Government is not a Family Business
In this closing section, I am going to be brief, direct and bold to all of my fellow Africans. Africa is at the bottom of the shelf for many reasons; but one thing that is obvious is the fact that most of the government officials are incompetent. They spend most of the time in their offices pretending that they are working while either taking a nap or using the government property such as the phone or vehicles for personal reasons. Some come to work in the company of friends or relatives. Amongst lower ranked workers, some come to work late and leave early, but since nepotism has allowed them to work under their relatives as their bosses, other diligent and hardworking employees cannot or will not say anything at the risk of losing their jobs. The government workplace is not and should not be a family business. In this day and age, the sport industry throughout the world is very competitive because there are significant opportunities to earn funding through adverting, sponsorships, naming rights for sport facilities or championships and corporate partnerships, amongst others. To truly run a dynamic sports industry, you need to have the right candidate formulating and implementing the best strategies and initiatives that will generate revenue, move sports in Africa forward and help African youth capitalize on their natural talents and interests in sport.
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