A likely scapegoat in Micho’s sacking

Truth be told, I don’t know much about what goes on behind the scenes, much like anyone else out there in the public. Nevertheless, I follow events, look for clues…and I find the truth in small or big details that have been going on for years.

Saturday, April 20, 2013
Ivan R. Mugisha

Truth be told, I don’t know much about what goes on behind the scenes, much like anyone else out there in the public. Nevertheless, I follow events, look for clues…and I find the truth in small or big details that have been going on for years.Rwandan football had a problem before Mulitin Sredojovic, AKA, Micho. Rwandan football still had a problem during Micho’s era, and, Rwandan football will continue to have problems after Micho. This is of course if FERWAFA and the Ministry of Sports believe that by sacking him, then they have solved the problem.We have continued to witness splendid growth in Rwanda’s economy… ministries such as infrastructure and finance working tooth and nail to ensure that Rwanda’s growth is put on the map. On the other hand, I have never seen a dormant ministry like the ministry of sports. Probably they don’t get as much of the budget’s share like the others, but even with the little they get, some progress is definitely needed.All we need is a serious and radical move; we cannot continue relying on street football for our talent- that is why academies must be developed. Nothing other than grooming talent will be the answer to this dilemma.Forget about trying to do one time wonders like qualifying for Africa Cup or World Cup. Let us do something that can make us qualify, and always qualify. If you look at countries like Nigeria and Ghana, they didn’t do things overnight like we are trying to do- it was a process. They uphold and invest in talent much as we do in education, and that is why they have better football than we do.TV rights hurting La LigaLa Liga is arguably the biggest or second biggest league in the world after the English Premier League. This is made so by the giant size of Barcelona and Madrid who are very successful both at home and in European competitions.The only hind-side, though, is the size of the other eighteen clubs in the league. They are forced to share between themselves only 20 percent of the TV rights while the other two take 80 percent. This explains the gulf in class between those two and the rest, and why we never watch Espanyol playing against Osasuna.I read with keen interest that a new law could force La Liga teams to sell their television rights collectively- meaning that each club would at least get the same cut of the lucrative deals.Each Spanish club is free to negotiate individually with broadcast partners under the current system, which allows the big two, Real Madrid and Barcelona, to earn about €140 million each.Atletico Madrid comes next with an estimated €50 million, less than half of what the other two make, explaining the imbalance in profit earnings.If this law is passed, La Liga will probably surpass the Premier League to become the most watched league in the world.If it is not passed, however, it will become extremely hard or even impossible for this generation to have another La Liga winner other than Barca and Real Madrid