SPORTS BUDGET A DISAPPOINTMENT

The much anticipated National Sports Indaba has since been postponed indefinitely and a new date has not been set yet.Swaziland National Sports Council (SNSC) Chairman Menzi Dlamini said the reason for the postponement was that some of the invited guests will be taking part in a series of national events in the next coming weeks. And until their diaries cleared, the event will not be held.

In Swaziland, we are all expected to understand and move on with our lives hoping that when the time is right for those silky suited government officials will finally grace the event.
I am not complaining one bit, but I am also not comfortable with the decision to postpone, knowing that procrastination is the thief of time. Our sports are in shambles in whatever way you may look at them, and I pity the few men and women who have invested their time, resources and energies to keep the fire burning.

We can all moan and groan but the fact is we now know that sports are not one of the areas of priority for government regardless of the significant role it has played to keep us free from all the stresses caused by the socio-political and economics of our nation.
Just on Friday, new Minister of Finance Martin Dlamini tabled a budget that hit the E15 Billion mark and from the budget the country’s 31 sports associations will only get to share E7.192 million which is about 0.01 per cent of the total national budget.

This, therefore, means that in the eyes of government sports is nothing but a game than being an industry as it is the case in the eyes of other governments, like Zambia, Botswana and Angola just to name a few in the region.
In fact, Zambia, whose Nkana F.C eliminated our own Mbabane Swallows, is currently preparing bids to host the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Next year, the country will host the African Netball Championships.
They are not the richest country than us, but it is the way they have positioned sports as one of the many vehicles for economic growth.

I was hoping that the now postponed Sports Indaba would help us take a deep introspection of ourselves as nation and sports stakeholders, with each one of us looking if we have done enough to promote sports in general. While last week’s loss to Nkana F.C by Mbabane Swallows left me disappointed, I was not entirely shocked by the result.

Not that Swallows did not deserve anything better than what they got from the match. No. They had done enough here two weeks ago with the 2-0 credible result, going to Kitwe.
But the reality is that they went there as their own, than ambassadors of the country, against a club that had an unwavering national support. What with the about US$20 000 win incentive put forth by the Zambian Minister of Sports and Recreation Clashimbu Kambwili.

To the Nkana team it was more than the spot in the next round of the competition, but the pride of the nation at stake.
They were like soldiers in war, ready to die for their country which had openly backed them. Swallows did get assistance from the FA and PLS but they needed more than just that, which after all went to the travelling and preparation costs.

The odds were literally stuck against them, and for the club to go out there and score two more goals, is nothing but a demonstration of the potential that we have in sports, which just needs to be jerked up a bit.
The point I am driving at now is that the corporate community have a big role to play here. They have to emulate their counterparts in Zambia, who have adopted a number of the top teams, and just last week Nchanga Rangers signed a kit sponsorship deal worth about E160 000  a year with  a big electricity company.

They will not be featuring in any CAF club competition, but they have a deal to keep them up there with the best in their home league. And when they eventually make it to any of the two CAF club competitions they will have the financial backing needed. The end result will be a good performance. Swallows lost to a Nkana side that after winning the MTN Zambian League last year November went on a shopping spree.
Last week’s three goal hero Billy Mwanza was one of the new signings snatched from close rivals Power Dynamos. They also have about two players on loan from the same team.

That showed that they were not prepared to take chances in as far participating in the CAF Champions League was concerned. Unlike their opponents Swallows, who were seeking their first win the tournament, Nkana were given a mandate to at least reach the group stages.
These are some of the things we have to look into when or if the Sports Indaba is finally convened.

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