Zimbabwe: 'Sports Industry Needs to Up Its Game'

By Ellina Mhlanga

THE need to prioritise and invest in sport remains a topical issue and the African Union Sports Council Region Five believes there are a number of factors that, if addressed, will go a long way in helping the industry get recognition.

There appears to be not much progress made in some of the countries in the Region, including Zimbabwe, when it comes to investment in sport and involvement of the private sector as corporates continue to shy away from the sporting industry.

Speaking to The Herald, AUSC Region Five chief executive, Stanley Mutoya, said there is need for goodwill, including from the highest offices.

"As Region Five, we think that there is need for what I would call goodwill even from our principals. We are very much engaging right now to see if, for example, sport can be on the SADC Summit Agenda.

"If our Heads of States at SADC level, regional level, for example, would provide certain incentives at that level or even just a word encouraging these corporates, they would invest.

"There is very little incentives that are attracting our corporates to come on board. Yes, we have had rebates in certain countries but they have not come to fruition. How do you activate these rebates if they have not come through," said Mutoya.

He, however, pointed out that for such engagements to bear the intended results, the sport industry has to create an enabling environment that will attract the corporates.

"But companies are not only worried about rebates. They are worried about recognition, they are worried about the business environment, they are worried about market investment. So those are the things that we need at that high level to create.

"And I must thank our Council of Ministers because they have now taken an approach of the commercialisation drive where we are engaging corporates at that level to say come let's discuss.

"There is no free lunch and this is for us as sport industry. Sometimes we just call for the corporates and yet we have not perfected our product because remember it's a market. In the market you buy the best product.

"You can't expect the corporate to come and support a product that is mediocre. So we have some work to do ourselves as a sporting industry," said Mutoya.

The AUSC Region Five chief executive said fighting, conflicts and electoral malpractices, among other things, scare away the corporates as they wouldn't want to get their brands tarnished.

He also said the stance taken by some international federations when it comes to government involvement has in some cases been unfavourable with some national associations taking advantage of that to avoid being accountable.

This, according to Mutoya, has been detrimental when it comes to decisively dealing with some of the problems within sport as there is a thin line between government intervention and interference.

"And finally the international federations themselves they have a role to play because I believe that to some extent there are perpetuating what I would call the corporate sector apathy if I may use that word.

"Number one, you find that we have got international federations that declare that their national federations are untouchable even if they are wrong and there is always a very thin line between government interference and government intervention.

"Whenever teams are supposed to go for competitions, national federations will come to government and say they want government intervention, when government calls them to account they now change and say now it's government interference," said Mutoya.

However, he said as a Region, they are working on engaging the international federations.

Mutoya said governance issues have to be taken seriously, and until such a time when there is professionalism and harmony in sport, it will be difficult to make meaningful progress in attracting corporates.

Among the mechanisms the Region has put in place is the requirement for minimum qualifications for anyone who wants to serve in national associations.

"Our sport needs to be cleaned up, our sport needs to shape up, our sport needs to be serious.

"I am happy that our Ministers on the 8th of November 2019, they approved a policy where we said now there is an eligibility requirement, minimum qualifications for people who are going to be elected to serve in national associations.

"National associations were given up to end of 2022 to ensure that they have changed their constitutions and they have aligned now," said Mutoya.

Starting from next year, the Region will be looking at compliance from the national associations within their member countries.

This article originally appeared on The Herald

Photo: The Herald