Schools can act as mini sports academies

The recent achievement of Rwanda taking part in the U-17 FIFA World Cup is one that may not be overrated. The events in Mexico may not carry the same weight as the next World Cup to be held in 2014 in Brazil but, they give us a sneak peek into what is ahead. After all, many of the great names in the football world were spotted at an early age. Argentina’s Lionel Messi was already playing for FC Barcelona by the time he was 17. At 15, Samuel Eto’o was a member of the Real Madrid squad. Therefore our boys are facing the horizons of success. Although we did not achieve much success from the English, Canadian and Uruguayan teams, the future is indeed bright for Rwandan football. We now have more than enough reason to invest in the development of young talent. In the developed world, talented youngsters are identified and taken to sports academies where they can access state-of-the-art facilities as they continue with their education. These young ones are therefore lucky to get the moulding they need in order to succeed in something other than academic work. In the developing world to which Rwanda is party, these facilities are hard to come by. However, there are ways to get around some of these hurdles and the best bet remains the school system. Schools can be used as mini-sports academies where young talent is nurtured and encouraged. Although Rwanda managed to participate in the U-17 World Cup, it is no secret that identifying young players in different games is still a struggle. This is further worsened by the inadequate level of competitions between schools at the national level. Much as we may not afford to set up modern sports academies for all games, I believe the Ministry of Sports can work together with the Education Ministry to develop some schools into mini academies for particular sports. A few schools should be selected for say, football. These schools should then have their soccer pitches upgraded to acceptable standards and such schools should be availed with a qualified football coach who regularly trains the students. More importantly on some days, national league games can be hosted by this school so as to inspire the younger players to aim higher after seeing those who play the game at a professional level. One such school can be identified in each province. With access to good training and facilities, this school can serve as an academy from which we can recruit young players to ensure that the tournament in Mexico is not our last appearance internationally. On a similar front, some schools can be identified for basketball. And a good basketball court could be constructed and a coach assigned to train the students. Cricket can also take the same format with a particular school having a well maintained cricket oval in place as well as the necessary equipment to play the game. The presence of a cricket oval at ETO Kicukiro School is an example; members of the Rwanda Cricket team have benefited from the cricket oval. It is impossible to have a cricket oval for every school in a country like Rwanda where the topography is often a challenge. On the other hand, if some schools have a cricket facility then those schools can serve as mini cricket academies to feed the senior national team with young talent. Schools help to nurture future engineers, doctors, teachers or lawyers. In the same spirit, these very schools can nurture the future members of Rwanda’s football, cricket, basketball, volleyball, tennis, athletics and so many other sport teams. The good news is that we have a government that is pro-sports and a president who has sports flowing in his veins. ssenyonga@gmail.com