IT’S A LONG ROAD AHEAD

My dearest readers...  “Awu yinde lendlela esiyihambayo ... awu yinde lendlela esiyihambayo ... washo u-Mandela wathi sohlangana nge-Freedom Day,” waxed lyrically former South Africa’s president Jacob Zuma in an old clip flighted on ETV channel on Sunday as Mzansi celebrated ‘Freedom Day’.

I chuckled to myself that, perhaps, the song could be more opportune with the crisis we are currently faced with, which has been created by the invisible enemy named COVID-19 by scientists.
It is mercilessly ripping at the heart of humanity. 

Life, as we know it, is being stripped of its very soul as the coronavirus pandemic continues to turn the world upside down – literally and figuratively speaking.
The starvation caused by the football season suspension due to COVID-19 is unbearable especially for some of us whose staple diet is football – worshipping on the altar of football every weekend.

The withdrawal symptoms are evident as we dart, like squirrels, around the living room watching re-runs of old movies and soccer matches.
It’s impossible now to even think about life before COVID-19. Life is in limbo. It’s surreal.

admonished

After last week’s State-Of-the-Nation-Sports-Address (SONSA) where I admonished the football authorities to wake up and smell the COVID-19 coffee, the response was overwhelming. Some of the football officials reacted like I had murdered their mothers.
You would have sworn I had acted the same way as the Kenyan Governor, Mike Sonko, who sparked controversy last week when he distributed food packs to residents that included tiny bottles of the Hennessy cognac.

His reason for doing this? “I think from the research which has been conducted by the World Health Organisation and various health organisations, it has been revealed that alcohol plays a pre-eminent role in killing the coronavirus or any sort of virus.
If you take any sanitiser and check the alcoholic content, you will find each sanitiser has above 70 per cent of alcohol content.”
What an idiotic remark! Of course, this is untrue. Sonko was roundly condemned for endangering the lives of Nairobi residents through propagating false information.

lackadaisical

I had done none of such. I was just irked by the lackadaisical approach to the greatest human tragedy in the turn of the 21st century by our football authorities.
I am glad that the reaction in particular from the chairman of the Medical Committee, Dr Comfort Shongwe was prompt.
Now, as a doctor by profession, Shongwe, for me, is the right person to be the focal point on the football front in the fight against COVID-19 or even any related sports medicine issues in our football.

I know he has assembled a strong team of other medical practitioners which is a good thing but now is the time for them to lead us out of this quagmire.
How will football come out of this COVID-19 crisis?

What needs to be done to ensure there is a strict adherence to the government and World Health Organisation (WHO) precautionary measures?
What is going to happen in the event the season resumes?

questions

These are the questions that Dr Shongwe and his MVPs need to help guide us.
It’s good that FIFA, the world governing body, has opted to release all funding pending for the 2019/2020 season to help member associations on the challenges brought by the pandemic. Now the EFA has to put the money to good use.

They need to outline, how they will assist the teams adhere to the precautionary measures because finishing the season, whatever it takes, is not debatable.
Look at the damage the Dutch league is facing now after they voided the season. FC Utretch has launched a legal challenge against the decision, claiming it has cost them a shot at qualifying for Europe. If you cancel the season, that means there will be no relegation and no promotion.
How do you think Tabankulu Callies, Madlenya FC and Tinyosi FC would feel given that all three have a chance of playing in the elite league next season?

upset

Voiding the season will certainly upset someone. It should not even be considered as an option. That’s why Dr Shongwe and his MVPs need to give us a guideline of how we will navigate the COVID-19 terrain if the season resumes. This pandemic has forced people to take decisions they never thought they would have to make.

As Ian Ladyman, the fiery London’s Daily Mail scribe, opined, football, must also carry its load with some kind of dignity as it is humanly possible.
Ambrose Mandvulo Dlamini’s Cabinet is also doing its damndest and football, on the other hand, need to assist in a way as the country’s most followed sport.
The plan must be water-tight, clear and concise.       

It’s a long road ahead. We cannot let our guard down. In fact the real work will begin even after the lockdown is over and the football season resumes.
plan
Dr Shongwe, please be our football version of SA’s Dr Zweli Mkhize in guiding us through a proper, structured plan of how football will navigate this COVID-19 terrain in the best possible way.
This is a life and death situation. It’s no laughing matter. It’s a long road ahead and like in biblical times, Dr Shongwe and his men need to find the purpose of what they are all about like the multitudes who followed Jesus Christ when he crossed over the Sea of Galilee.

Difficult tasks become easy when they are executed on the pathway of purpose.
Isaiah 30: 21 says: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left. I have,”

Declare with me: “I have a vision; I walk in purpose in Jesus Christ Mighty name!”
Can I get an Amen? ...

Post your comment

Your name:

Your e-mail address:

Add your comments:

Please enter the code you see in the image:

Image:

Code: