Race Card Out In Minor Sports. Again

By Perkins-Tino Bare

After the South African Sports Minister earlier this week banned a total of four sports association from bidding or hosting any major tournaments the race card is being whipped out once again as the discussions all around are over correcting the injustices that were done to the blacks during apartheid.

One thign that stuck out in the ban was that the associations were responsible as they failed to meet their own set targets and there could not therefore blame the minister nor the government for imposing a target that was not viable in the set time. But after all transformation is not that easy as this goes way back into our history as blacks in general.

Zimbabwe Cricket once tried it and it failed dismally in their quest which explains the dire mode that the game finds itself in. In as much as it can be used as a case study of just how bad transformation can backfire the South African sports minister was indeed coming from a justified point of view and even so he said he was going to review his decision when the next transformation results are published.

The inclusion of blacks in minority sports as I would like to call them has been a contested issue for a long time now and honestly even the transformation process itself cannot be that smooth. Starting for the structures set at high school swimming, rugby, cricket and hickey are all viewed as minority sports and the lack of resources has sort of confined these sports to only group A schools.

This confinement then makes it a whole lot easier when it then comes to the national squad as in most cases players from the other race which is usually black will not be good enough for the national squad which then justifies their exclusion.

Looking at this however transformation is mainly based on including the black race mainly which had been excluded from the various sports which were deemed as `whites only`. This transformation would therefore mean a wider pool of talent for the associations which should necessarily turn into getting the absolute best in the team. This however could have been said to have been the case even when the selectors just pinned their hopes on a particular race for talent and the success of the Springboks and the Proteas is just testament to the fact.

So in most cases even if the net is cast wider when it then comes down to selecting the cream fro the national team its usually the same old faces. This then calls for the restructuring of the development structures themselves as both races black or white should be given an equal chance to represent the national team instead of the black race being set up for failure.

This therefore has to start at the absolute bottom and if the minister Mbalula wishes to realise this transformation dream its going to call for a lot of patience. Its only now that we`re starting to see the likes of Kagiso Rabada in the Proteas line-up actually making a difference for the team. Back then they wouldn`t even get a lick. In the 2015 World Cup Aaron Phangiso did not even play a single game and his presence was only there to serve the purpose of soothing the consciences of a few battered fellows.

So where then do we draw the line between inclusion and just satisfying the egos of a few felons at the expense of the game itself. Like I said transformation has to start at the very bottom which means ensuring that each talent gets just as enough of an opportunity to blossom to its full nature. This then becomes a question of resources for mobilization of the required resources for the disadvantaged schools will now be key. If we`re looking at including everyone then we are also looking at those schools in the remote areas which in Zimbabwe only know two sports athletics and football.

Whether a nation is at the liberty to expand their pools that wide only then becomes a question of the resources at hand but if we`re looking at immediate satisfaction then lets just stick in a couple of colored lad in the squads which will only be at the expense of the game itself.

Its true that this stretches back to colonialism yes colonialism I haven`t been watching a lot of ZBC but that`s just a fact right there. If we`re talking about undoing the injustices that were done to the black race then we therefore have to realise that the process is going to have to be gradual . Any form of radicalism in will only be lethal and Zimcricket is enough of a failed example at this. This doesn`t call for immediate action on the actual field of play as the reality still remains the same that the black race is still excluded. In South Africa we talk of Makhaya Ntini and lets build from the yesteryear legends to try and initiate this whole transformation process.

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