I enjoyed writing in 2021

JESSE JACKSON KAURAISA

As I pen my last column for 2021, I can say that it has been the best time to be alive for a sports journalist due to the events that have unfolded in one single year.

It was a remarkable year filled with thrills and spills and probably one of the greatest years, if not the best, in Namibia’s sporting history.

I do not remember a year in which our nation excelled at international level as much as this year.

From Christine Mboma, Beatrice Masilingi, Ananias Shikongo and Johannes Nambala to the national cricket team, these people made this year an amazing one.

And let us not forget the national women’s hockey team, who once again qualified for the indoor hockey world cup.

No joy for football

Less can be said about our football, though, which has been engulfed in infighting ever since I can remember.

This continues to be a worrying scenario and I continue to be accused of taking sides.

Yet again, politics played a huge role as far as the direction of our football is concerned.

It has been tiring to say the least and one can just hope that there will be light at the end of the tunnel.

I repeat again that my advice to these individuals with dubious intentions towards football is that they should let those with a passion for the game run the affairs of football in this country.

The truth is, a person will never be able to solve something they are not passionate about.

A perfect example is employing a thief as a police officer. You can never solve crime with crime, even if you pretend to be doing that.

It is therefore a dangerous thing if you have football administrators who are there for a different reason than improving football.

Namibia is not the first country to experience this kind of problem but I can assure you it is one of the few countries that struggle to fix their problems.

I assume this happens because we live in a country where most people come into the structures of an organisation with the aim of satisfying their stomachs and not to make things work.

It is a country where people pretend to be one, but underneath those pretences there is a stinking can of tribalist worms.

So many people still linger in the past and are filled with hatred and tribalism.

The lack of brotherhood in football is evident from the moment you walk into the football association or you open Facebook to read comments about football problems.

So many times I have spoken about how bad tribal divisions are for the game, but my voice has fallen on deaf ears.

Today we still have the same problem.

Thanks to corporate Namibia

We all know that the successful year would not have been possible without the support of corporate sponsors.

Some corporates in this country have made it possible for Namibians to dream again.

It has not been easy given that most corporates have been hit by the pandemic, making their financial situation difficult.

Still, even during these difficult times, some companies stayed committed to supporting sport as best as they could.

Season’s greetings

Having said this, I wish you all nothing but the best for the festive season and may you have a prosperous new year.

I will definitely be back with a bang in 2022. See you next year!

[email protected]