Sport has been revolutionized over the years to the extent that it is no longer “sport” but more “big business.”
Gone are the days when sportsmen and women competed for trophies or medals, displaying exuberant camaraderie when they won.
Today, sport the world over is more business and the competition is centred mainly not so much on the performance of the athletes, but on the commercial returns that can be garnered through marketing with the main income being broadcast rights and sponsorship.
The assets of some international sports bodies can match those of some of the leading business corporations.
The Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), Formula 1 Motor Racing, The Professional Golfers Association (PGA), International Cricket Conference (ICC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) are among the wealthiest organizations in and out of sport.
Because of the international appeal that sports has, many of the world’s leading businesses team up with international sports bodies to market their brands.
Where are the athletes in all this? They compete yes, but with great endorsements from corporate sponsors.
The world’s fastest man Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt, American golfer Tiger Woods, tennis legend, Roger Federer, swimmer, Michael Phelps, the Williams sisters Serena and Venus are just a few athletes who receive sponsorship from major companies.
Football in Europe is big business and sometimes, when huge sums are paid for the transfer of players from one team to the next we sometimes wonder how a player could be worth so much.
Cricket, still regarded as the West Indies main game, continues to attract sponsorship from big corporations even with the athletic talents that have emerged in the Caribbean recently.
Jamaica, Bahamas, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Antigua/ Barbuda, Cuba, Panama, St. Kitts/ Nevis and Grenada have all produced athletes of great repute over the past 10 years so the region, although small, is gaining respect from the rest of the world.
The Caribbean region will soon host many international sporting events that will be tied into the region’s sports tourism thrust and with so much competition in the tourism market, the Caribbean now sees sports tourism as a critical component of securing the tourism dollar.
That is what sport is today- all business.
In Guyana it is a far cry from what takes place around the globe and it is becoming increasingly difficult for our athletes to compete because they lack the basic training facilities and the opportunity to secure scholarships and grants like athletes from other countries.
They are always at a disadvantage and although many use competition in the Caribbean as a yardstick to assess their performances it is clear that we are just not up to par.
Most local sports associations take a begging bowl for financial assistance to the government and the business community and over the years the little that has been offered by government has resulted in little progress for athletes and the sport in general.
If one was to look into the context of the progress that sport has made over the years in Guyana one would realize that Guyana is still languishing lightyears behind.
Cricket is regarded as most popular game locally yet it took Guyana umpteen years to acquire a stadium which was only realized when this country made a bid to host matches of the Cricket World Cup in 2007.
Work has started on an international-sized swimming pool but is this country preparing to make an indelible mark in the sport in a few years times when the pool is realised?
Government gets the blame it deserves most of the time but local sports associations must also share the blame for the woes facing their sports disciplines due to their laidback attitude.
How many associations seek partnerships with local businesses in a professional way to convince them to come onboard?
We hear so often of associations not securing enough funding to send athletes overseas but how many of these associations have a five or 10 year plan or strategy to take their sport to the next level?
Most local associations rely on government’s support for funding but how many have the marketing capability to garner corporate support?
Several local promoters are doing what the national bodies should have been doing in the first place.
Take for example the annual Kashif and Shanghai football tournament; the organizers have been able to attract sponsorship from home and abroad.
A promoter recently organized two 20/20 cricket tournaments and the responses by both businesses and patrons were overwhelming.
Can we expect a similar response to the National Football League?
It is anyone’s guess since very little marketing and effective public relations have gone into the start of the League as indicated by the promotion of the event to the general public.
Even government agencies seemed to be siding with promoters as against national associations with a clear indicator being the currently organized Inter-Block tournaments.
Most times these events are held outside the purview of national associations with the Ministry of Sport being at the forefront of the activities.
Are we to believe that sports associations are being sidelined or could one assume that these national bodies are not doing enough so the government agencies are stepping in to render assistance?
Sports associations need to adopt a professional approach and run their affairs.
They must in effect operate as if they are running a business and so the first step should be to drop the amateur statute from their constitutions.
But for the holistic approach to the dilemma currently affecting local sport to be corrected there is need for the much-touted National Sports Policy to be released so that all and sundry would have a chance to know whether we will ever make rapid progress or whether we will continue to be stagnated by our own deficiencies and actions and social responsibilities.
