It has always been my concern, as a sports fanatic, when different sporting codes suffer due to lack of funding, which seems to be the main challenge we face in our beautiful Mountain Kingdom.
That is why I would want to give credit where it is due and salute the Lesotho Basketball Association (LBA) for the good work its management has been doing regardless of this Lesotho syndrome of perennial cash-shortage when it comes to sport.
The LBA is not one of those sports associations always lambasting the government for not giving them enough money to run their activities, but quietly goes about the business of improving the game in the country, in-spite of the organisation’s financial problems.
Since the beginning of this year, the LBA has been holding tournament after tournament and using the little funding the association has to ensure there is some activity on its calendar.
Most of the LBA’s events have been organised by some of its members in their individual capacity and this can only prove the passion they have for the game.
Different associations have failed to get their yearly subventions from government, through the Sports Commission, due to the on-going feud between the sports-governing body and the state.
But if our administrators were singularly determined to uplift sport in our country, then they would behave like the LBA and do the best they can to uplift the respective codes they lead, even with limited funding.
Our athletes have proved over and over again that they have the potential to excel even on the international stage, but poor management has always let them down.
The 3-on-3 basketball squad was left out of the Lesotho team which competed in the 2014 African Youth Games held in Botswana in May, with claims that the Federation of International Basketball Associations (FIBA) had declared Lesotho basketball unsuitable for the tournament.
But that never discouraged this group of determined youths, who have continued to prove their passion for the game by continually training and holding tournaments locally.
I will not be naming names that I know have been very instrumental in pushing this selfless spirit within the LBA, as I believe due to their selflessness, mentioning them would not change anything as they are not after publicity but simply to improve their chosen sport.
And as if fighting for the improvement of basketball is not enough of a challenge, there is also a project called Bokamoso, through which the LBA has been holding tournaments to raise funding for Lesotho’s different homes for the needy.
That is why I feel it is only fair that I commend the basketball authorities for the good work they have been doing in ensuring the sport grows at its current impressive rate, and also going beyond the bounds of their sport to care for the less-fortunate members of our society.
How I wish all local sports administrators had such big hearts, because with such dedication in every sporting code, our sport would have scaled greater heights and not continued to be in its current state of amateurism and embarrassment.
I mean, there is no business which would like its name to be associated with officials who always make news headlines for the wrong reasons, so my sincere plea is for all the sporting authorities out there to take their responsibilities very seriously in order to attract the necessary backing from the corporate sector.
Passion is the most important attribute when it comes to sports management and I so wish administrators would follow in the footsteps of the LBA and stop focusing on lining their pockets with taxpayer’s monies, and just do their jobs.
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