admin
The Herald, October 14, 1980
THERE is room for improvement in Zimbabwe’s sport facilities, the visiting president of the Supreme Council for Sports in Africa, Mr Abraham Ordia, says.
In an interview in Salisbury yesterday, Mr Ordia said, he was here to try to give Zimbabwe assistance and advice on running sport, and also learn “something on sport administration in a new country”.
“Sporting facilities in independent Zimbabwe should be looked at, and from the little I have seen there is need for improvement,” he said.
Ideas for improvement had been discussed with officials of the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Recreation, in closed meetings.
Mr Ordia, who is on the fourth leg of a whirlwind tour of Africa, said he was perturbed that some newspapers thought he was conducting a campaign against the 1982 Commonwealth Games to be held in Brisbane.
His visit should not be taken as a “campaign” against the Brisbane Games, he said, but wherever he went he was working “for peace in sport, and this starts by appealing to the voice of reason with the hope that wise counsel will prevail in the end”.
On South Africa, Mr Ordia said sporting links with that country were a violation of the Commonwealth Gleneagles Agreement and should be severed.
Apartheid in sport should be condemned by all concerned, as it was “doubly wrong” to discriminate against anyone in sport because of the pigmentation of his skin.
On the rest of his trip, he said his visit to Uganda had been to assess the damage to sport in that country and give advice to sports administrators on how to conduct a revival.
In Nairobi, he met sport officials but “at no time did I discuss the boycott of the Games in Brisbane” as President Moi was not available, due to pressure of work.
“While in the capital of Kenya, I wanted to see and know the progress being made for the fourth Africa Games, but reports coming from there painted a wrong picture of my visit,” he said.
Before returning to Nigeria Mr Ordia will visit Maseru to meet officials about arrangements for the 1981 general assembly of the Supreme Council for Sport in Africa.
With 50 member countries, he said, more than 300 delegates are expected to attend, and Lesotho “needs all help” to hold the convention.
Mr Ordia called for a complete integration of sport, which is “not abnormal in an abnormal society” as this will be an answer to racial misunderstandings.
LESSONS FOR TODAY
- Sport is critical to people as it is central to their physical and mental well-being. In addition to keeping the mind and soul fit, sport can be a source of livelihood. In developed nations, some of the richest or highest paid people are sports personalities.
- For people to nurture their sporting talents, they need to have the proper facilities and training. In Zimbabwe, most sporting facilities, especially those run by urban councils are run down; no longer functioning and no longer existing.
- There is need to engage the private sector and donors to come in and assist in rehabilitating and maintaining existing infrastructure and to construct new infrastructure.
- The provision of sporting facilities, especially in high density areas are critical in keeping the youths busy and distracted enough to prevent them from taking harmful or illicit drugs.
- The success of any nation on the sporting field does not only rely on the skills of the athletes but on country providing facilities that are in line with changing trends.
Online Reporter