YOU CANNOT SAY THAT YOU HAVE REFORMED THE ASSOCIATION AND YET THE STRUCTURES ARE STILL CARRYING AMATUERISM! PROFESSIONAL STRUCTURES CAN EVEN BE SEEN AT ALL OUR HOSPITALS IN THE COUNTRY E.G. YOU WOULD FIND CLEARLY MARKED DEPARTMENT SUCH AS EYE CLINIC, CHEST CLINIC, RECEPTION, WAITING ROOM, PEDIATRIC, TO MENTION BUT A FEW. AS expected, nothing came out of the 2013 Moscow World Athletics Championship from the three Zambian runners that travelled for the games. There are a number of reasons affecting sport in Zambia today, mostly they have to do with administration and finances or lack of it. I do not have much to say this week however I will allow reactions from the previous two articles on which I consecutively wrote about the Zambia Amateur Athletics Association (ZAAA) which has been rechristened Zambia Athletics Association (ZAA) to be in line with the International Associations of Athletics Federations (IAAF) resolution of 2001. But before I do that, allow me to talk about last Wednesday’s international friendly match between Zambia and Senegal played in Paris, France; a preparatory for the Brazil 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ghana set for September 6 in Kumasi. The 1-1 result was fair with the Chipolopolo goal coming from one Jacob Mulenga on just two minutes, but as usual we could not defend the lead and allowed the Teranga Lions to level matters through Dame Ndoye’s headed ball. Zambia played better football than Senegal (we are told), but I feel there is something the players are not being told – how to defend a goal once you score. I only pray coach Herve Renard and his team will have worked on this before we play old foes- Ghana on September 6 in Kumasi in the final of the qualifiers in this stage before the knockout round to decide the top five African countries to represent Africa at the World Cup in Brazil next year. Like I said, today is one of those days that I allow the readers to have their say; some of the articles had to be edited due to space. Thomas Mulenga wrote: “It is not the first time that ZAAA has sent athletes with no coach. Actually it has happened this time because the ZAAA president knows the coach will not cry foul because he has done it before without anyone complaining. Mpondela’s conduct can not be tolerated anymore. He does not only endanger the lives of the athletes’ future but also risks the lives of the young men. “The athletes invest a lot in the preparations, only to be frustrated by the so called president of ZAAA. Mpondela knows and enjoys more of lying than running!!! As an athlete I have interacted with all genre of athlete from the likes of Matete (Samuel), George Msimuko, Musonda Ngwira, Douglas Kalembo,Francis Mukuka, Prince Mumba, Vincent Hatuleke, Douglas Mushili, Richard Bwalya, Jonathan Chipalo, etc. These athletes plus many others can contribute to the success of the sport but Mpondela has tried by all means to dampen their potential. “In Kenya sport through running contributes a sizable amount in the economy. Eldoret Town the eastern part of Kenya is a hive of sport as every young man wants to pick up a boot and earn a living..! My appeal to the Minister of Sport is to intervene URGENTLY.” N Nyambe emailed: “Your article is spot on. Elias has not only outlived his usefulness but also he has continued to lack the humility expected of a sports administrator. Remember a few years back the fight against Jonathan Chipalo (think this is the correct name!). We need new blood in ZAAA. The association should identify and nurture talent from across the country.” And Peter Chisanga from Kitwe touched on the state of sport in general saying: “It is a fact that all sports whether football or any other so called minor sport has deteriorated to unbelievable levels. The root cause of the above mentioned state of sport is poor management by totally incompetent administrators. The National Sports Council, followed by the National Olympic Committee in Zambia is not worth mentioning. These are organisations that send more managers to sports events than athletes. “Zambia is in ICU as far as sport is concerned. Cosmetic and gymnastics by administrators will not help matters. The answer does not lie in bringing expatriate coaches who themselves are incompetent. “Disband the National teams and go back to the school systems and start from there. As pointed out in one of your columns, the corporate bodies would be eagerly interested to help if the strategy and administrators are sober minded. It would be crazy of anybody to throw in resources in the current chasm.” Thank your for those emails and please keep them coming. I now anxiously await the result from the rescheduled African Nations Championship (CHAN) first leg, final round qualifier against the Warriors of Zimbabwe in Harare which was put off last weekend for this afternoon due to flight connection problems encountered by the Camerounian match officials in Kenya. Chipolopolo Iyee!!!
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 17:40:33 +0000