EDITORIAL: Stop quick-fix actions in our sports

The announcement by the Rwanda Football Association (Ferwafa) president Vincent Nzamwita that national top league side Isonga FC will be disbanded next year is another reminder of how unprofessional our sports disciplines are run. Indeed, the move will not have come as a surprise to many local football analysts, some of them having questioned the decision to create the club as an exclusive side for youthful national players, especially for the U-17 and U-20 categories, following Rwanda’s maiden appearance at any Fifa finals – the 2011 U-17 finals in Mexico. When the club was formed, the then Minister for Sports and Culture Protais Mitali reasoned it would help keep the youngsters together and allow government to closely monitor their development. Today, football administrators say they took the decision to dissolve the club because there is need to broaden investments in youth football by spreading out to the grassroots across the country. Both arguments are less than convincing. For the uninitiated, the first crop of players that constituted Isonga FC had been nurtured in a Fifa-sponsored national academy after they were identified in a national talent search exercise. They were the direct products of a medium, if not short, term strategy to scout for talent across the country to identify youngsters that would learn football from the academy. Therefore, they represented the Rwandan youth, and that investments paid off. However, for obvious reasons Mitali’s decision to create an exclusive club for the exciting young talents was wrong and thoughtless, and pointed to lack of a plausible strategy to build on the benefits of the Fifa academy to put in place a comprehensive plan for youth football. Such a long-term plan would require establishment of different levels of youth leagues, proper structures and ensuring sustained investments in youth football, including in schools, as well as progression for the youngsters. At the moment, other than the Turbo King national league – which itself is still struggling to meet all the basics for a professional football league – and the largely ignored second-tier league, there is no other structured football league to guarantee youth development. This is why the national team has landed into all sorts of troubles in recent years, including fielding ineligible players, in pursuit of short-term success. Until there is a clear, comprehensive strategy to run our sports professionally, our teams, at all levels, will continue to struggle. Unfortunately, Nzamwita and co. have yet to demonstrate both intent and ability to take us in that direction.

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EDITORIAL: Stop quick-fix actions in our sports