Warner’s speech should set off alarms

Feb 22, 2011 Sports

---

By Rawle Welch

There is no doubt that Trinidad and Tobago’s Transport Minister Austin Jack Warner, who also holds the posts of President of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) and Vice-President of FIFA is the most powerful and influential figure in sports in the region.
Warner, who was recently returned unopposed to lead the CFU for another term at the 34th Ordinary Congress which was held in Montego Bay, Jamaica made a commanding speech which should resonate throughout all sports bodies in the Caribbean.
The dynamic Warner addressing member affiliates at the Opening Ceremony told the gathering that very soon they will have to show better results for the huge financial assistance received from the World Governing Body and CONCACAF.
He insisted that every member over the next six months construct a four-year Strategic Development Plan within their respective territories to be accompanied by clear milestones and timelines.
According to Warner, the sport in the region must undergo a paradigm shift from being mere participants and begin to focus on gaining positive results to justify the support offered by FIFA and CONCACAF.
Warner said that it will not be business as usual and very shortly countries will have to match results with the substantial spending that FIFA has afforded them through its programmes.
The speech clearly reminded me of the huge sums of money being spent on cricket here, but the results continue to mirror that of football in the region.
Enormous sums have been given by both the WICB and the Government in support of cricket, but nothing tangible to back up the support offered has materialized, while other sports that have been performing with limited or even without the support of Government have been doing us proud.
Guyana’s current performance in the regional cricket competition is nothing short of wretched and even though some might be tempted to apportion blame on the present mess that is permeating the game’s administration, the reality is that due to the prolonged absence of a Development Strategy combined with patent favouritism, we are now reaping the rewards of such actions.
Sports such as rugby and football have struggled for Government’s recognition and adequate financial support, but could anyone imagine the kind of results that can possibly be achieved if more members of the Private Sector and Government combine their financial resources to assist these disciplines.
Upon their return from the recently staged IRB International Sevens World Series in the USA, President of the Guyana Rugby Football Union Christopher ‘Kit’ Nascimento beseeched the Government to show more commitment and love to the sport which has made us proud for a number of years within the Caribbean.
This team, beside support from a few corporate entities might not have been able to compete at the highest level and this is despite its outstanding achievements over the years.
The team has been painfully neglected, but continue to place this country on the map even in the absence of similar financial infusion that cricket enjoys.
Cricket sadly has lost its eminence among local sports fans and even though some might not want to confess it has been replaced as the sport that identifies us with regional supremacy.
Instead, rugby has taken its place and rightfully so.
This sport does not have a single millionaire that plays the game, but the players’ commitment and dedication is second to none in this country.
They perform at the international level with extremely limited resources and have completely dominated their regional counterparts who enjoy far more financial and national support than they do.
Let the playfield be level, this discipline is doing even better that our cricketers despite the odds and it is time that it qualifies for the same kind of national attention and financial assistance that our cricketers benefit from.
Cricket, must be able to match its performance with the level of financial assistance it receives until then the financial pie that is catered for in the national budget must be spread among the disciplines that are performing at a higher level.
Like Warner stated while speaking to Union members, “As a union, we cannot go on like this, the returns given on the investment given to us will become questionable. The assets, which we so proudly declare, will become depreciated and we will become like travellers on a journey to an unstable destination, through unfamiliar territory, on an uneven road, having already used up all spare tyres.”
These instructive words are not restricted to any particular sport, but all must beware that world governing bodies are no longer prepared to allow member affiliates to draw down on its financial support for continued development to not be fully accounted for matched with positive results.
His remarks should also set off alarms for all those administrators whose performance in office is a poor reflection of the kind of financial injection that is received from the Parent Body.

---

---