Ugandan players gather before the Vitality Netball Nations Cup match between New Zealand Silver Ferns and Uganda Sea Cranes at the OVO Arena, Wembley, in London, England, on January 21, 2024. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Kenyan athletes protested at Nyayo Stadium last week, leading to the postponement of selection trials for the All-African Athletics Championships.
Kenyan athletes and many fans were angry that the country's sports director had planned to have only one athlete per event participate in the competition in Accra later this month. Kenya has so far hired three people in each field.
“How can the government recruit just one player? What will happen to the rest who have invested in this day?” said Michelle Katami, a Kenyan journalist who led the protest. asked 800m world champion Mary Mora.
Fed up Kenyan athletics fans reacted in anger, but not surprisingly.
“We all know the script. I'll save the remaining slots for my girlfriend and kids,” one Kenyan said on social media. Another concluded: “Kenyan athletes are the strongest in the world. Kenyan sports coaches are a disgrace to the world.”
There are many other examples of incompetence, negligence, and corruption, so you don't have to look far. In one of the most egregious cases, Kenya's sports minister was indicted in 2016 for embezzling much of the country's Olympic team's $6 million budget.
He was found guilty along with the team's top executives and ordered to pay a fine of about $1 million, a decision that caused an uproar in Kenya. Both officials paid the fine and likely kept the change.
The players' protests last week had some impact. By Thursday morning, Kenya Athletics had managed to find room in its budget to accommodate 50 players in Accra instead of the 32 originally announced.
Despite the challenges off the track, Kenyan athletes remain among the best in the world. Faith Kipyegon holds the 1,500m and 5,000m world records. Brigid Kosgei is the fastest female marathon runner in history. Eliud Kipchoge is the fastest man in his field. The list goes on. Imagine what could be done in an environment that supports rather than hinders their progress.
Sports Corruption Case Study
The Uganda women's netball team is well aware of that disappointing turn of events. They could be the victors of the world, yet they are undermined by disgraced officials. Currently ranked 6th in the world and 2nd in Africa, Sea Cranes are Uganda's most successful national team.
That success came not because of the government, but because of the government. His hardships are as legendary as his sporting talent.
After recent strong performances in Wales and England, the team has moved from eighth to sixth in the world. But the team's fluidity on the pitch overshadowed the months of turmoil they experienced back home.
In a February 2023 television appearance, Uganda Netball Federation President Sarah Babirye Kicho blew the whistle on her boss, National Sports Council Secretary-General Patrick Ogwelu. She said he only gave her 186 million shillings ($48,000) but she was asked to pay 425 million shillings ($109,000). said.
An investigation by the Government Ombudsman corroborated these allegations, finding that Mr Ogwell had received kickbacks of more than 100 million shillings ($26,000) from the Netball Federation, which he skimmed from players' pocket money. It was something that was given to me.
Mr. Ogweru denies the charges against him, and Uganda's parliament has launched a second investigation. This time, it was Kitiyo, the whistleblower, who was jailed for failing to account for funds he claimed were stolen. Ogwell did not respond to requests for comment.
This episode is just the latest for a long-suffering team.
In 2013, the netball team traveled overland to Malawi to play in the African Cup of Nations, arriving just as the games had already begun. After a grueling 2,400km bus ride, they had to play the same day they arrived. With little nutrition (other teams provided water), the girls gave it their all and managed to take third place.
Investigations revealed that Ogwell had received more than Sh100 million in kickbacks that skimmed players' allowances.
Later that year, they won the Nations Netball Cup in Singapore despite similar drama. The team missed their flight due to delays in funding and had to forfeit the first match, arriving in Singapore after an 11-hour journey, just six hours before the game against Ireland. They won and continued winning until defeating hosts Singapore in the final.
Corruption is widespread and deep
Sports officials in Uganda and Kenya are not the only ones embroiled in allegations of corruption, neglect and abuse.
In Cameroon, the legendary Samuel Eto'o, who is currently the president of the country's football federation Fekafut, is under investigation by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on suspicion of match-fixing. CAF maintains that he is presumed innocent until proven guilty, and Eto'o denies all charges.
Audio recordings sent to CAF revealed that Eto'o promised to promote Allied-owned clubs from the country's third tier. It was duly promoted. The alleged documents also describe a Fekafoot management dispute between Mr. Eto'o and his vice president, Mr. Nyala Kuan Jr., in which the president committed match-fixing to humiliate the team owned by the vice president. He is said to have retaliated by doing so.
Nigerian players have threatened to boycott the 2023 Women's Soccer World Cup over unpaid bonuses and allowances from years ago. They played in the final (losing in the quarter-finals to champions England) but resumed their fight upon returning home. they are still fighting.
In its 2015 report on corruption in African sport, Transparency International found serious problems in sports governance across the continent. He cited issues such as regional and national association elections, the administration of player allowances and bonuses, match-fixing, and even human trafficking.
In some cases, corrupt officials often do far more harm than just lining their own pockets.
Last October, the BBC revealed that Gabonese soccer boys had been sexually assaulted over decades by coaches and other senior men in the sport. Some of the 30 witnesses who spoke to reporters, including former Gabonese international Parfait Ndong, said the country's sports officials had been warned about the abuse but did not want it to stop. He said he did not take any action to punish or punish the victims.
In 2019, Ghanaian journalist Ahmed Hussein Suare exposed widespread corruption within the country's football federation, leading to its dissolution. He was murdered just a few months after this article was published.
These may all seem like isolated examples, but taken together they point to a disturbing pattern of sports managers and administrators hindering the progress of the athletes they are supposed to be supporting. Regardless, the fact that so many African sports stars are achieving glory is proof of how deep the continent's talent pool really is, and a reminder of how much potential there is still to be realized. Let me do it.
This article was first published continentA weekly pan-African newspaper produced in partnership with . email and guardian. Designed to be read and shared on WhatsApp.Download your free copy in continent.org
