TIME TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

My dearest readers ... The sight of Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte shedding a bucket of tears while conducting a press conference live on television recently really touched the cockles of my heart.

Italy, the home of the Catholic Church, and for a while, the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, is a perfect example of what it takes to turn a blind eye on poor leadership. As nicely articulated by City Press guest writer, Modidima Mannya, Italy spent a considerable amount of time fighting off a prime minister who had become the centre of everything good leadership and governance entailed.

In the process, public services took a back seat as the COVID-19 pandemic exploded in the country.
That is why the silence from our football leadership on the pandemic is worrying to this grandson of Mlonyeni, especially on the role football is supposed to play as the country’s biggest sport. The football leadership seems to bury their heads in the sand and hope to dodge the bullet. But this is unavoidable.

War

This is war. It calls for renewed strengths, new ideas and commitment from everybody. We have come to accept that our football leadership thrives on the three C’s – Crisis, Chaos and Confusion.

They always react and are not pro-active.
But in the advent of the deadly coronavirus, it now calls for them to wake up from their long slumber and think outside the box. Our football leadership is prone to doing the same thing over and over again yet expecting a different result.
Essayist, Albert Einstein, has a name for it – it is called MADNESS. It sure comes in many forms.

It also reflects lack of awareness too. Besides closing offices as per government precautionary measures on social distancing, what else have our football leadership done at both Eswatini Football Association (EFA) and Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) level?
What have they told their affiliates with regards to the pandemic and possible ways going forward when – hopefully – the season resumes?

Zilch, nothing, fokol, nada. This is the time the silk-suited souls at Sigwaca House should be showing a hand in leadership.
For all their glaring numerous faults, Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini’s government’s level of commitment and compassion on the pandemic is highly commendable.
The resources are very scarce but the information is free-flowing in the face of an imminent human tragedy. Of course they can and they must do more. But what role is football playing in this regard?
What lessons can we take from here as a football industry?

horror

If the coronavirus horror show ends, hopefully our football leadership will realise they cannot continue to do things as they have done. We need a football revolution in thinking and action.

The coronavirus pandemic should teach us that one has to be responsible when in leadership. It must teach us delivery and discipline. People should not be content just being in position but they should be having goals and visions of taking our football to the Promised Land. Whether those currently in power have the gumption to take us anywhere is not for me to say – it is up to those who hold the voting power.

There has been a lot of calls lately on the change of structure in the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE) or even change of leadership. All these concerns are noted but it is the affiliates (teams) who can effect any change if necessary. Surely we need to see new ideas being brought into the game.
 This State-of-the-Nation-Sports-Address (SONSA) supports any initiative aimed at changing the fortunes of our game.

amendments

That’s why I am fully behind the calls on the amendments to the PLE Constitution and of course hiring of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) who will work independently without any due interference from the conflicted Executive Committee.

We can scream until the bovines come back to the kraal, but if the affiliates who hold the voting power see nothing wrong in the football leadership, nothing will change.

That is the hard, cold truth.
If the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic doesn’t galvanise our football leadership to think outside the box, then nothing ever will.
Phew!

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: