Sports minister Mbalula finally gets it right

Now and again, amidst his garbled ramblings, sports minister Fikile Mbalula does make some sense. Sometimes he even comes up with good ideas and is able to implement them.

In his budget vote speech in May, addressing the transformation blocks which his department has failed to overcome, Mbalula said: “There is neither contradiction nor Chinese Wall between access or quality of opportunity and excellence. Instead the two are mutually reienforcing each other and are dialectically inter-connected.”

That’s a mouthful, and offers an indication of how much Mbalula’s focus is directed towards higher political ambitions rather than sport, which is clearly not one of his general interests, let alone a passion.

But he’s not all bad, and through the energetic madness of the Honourable Razzmatazz, even if he’s always late, sometimes he gets things right.

In his budget vote speech this year, if you focused on what he was saying long enough, Mbalula announced the beginning of an important new era for domestic hockey, granting an additional R10 million to the SA Hockey Association (Saha) in order to launch a semi-professional league.

Following the public uproar after Saha agreed to a Sascoc qualifying policy which closed the African door on the national teams for last month’s Rio Olympics, Mbalula responded and the league will

Wesley Bo on

be launched in Randburg today.

While government and Sascoc must be held responsible for laying a high-performance foundation, however, there comes a point when other stakeholders must also stand up and play their part in lifting the status of a code which is struggling to secure financial support.

Saha will now need to rake in long-term corporate backing to build on the new Premier Hockey League (PHL) tournament, with the inaugural edition to be held over the next four weeks.

With six teams competing in each of the men’s and women’s divisions, all at one venue, crowd support and media coverage will also be crucial in boosting corporate interest and helping create a sustainable event.

Anyone who was upset that the hockey teams did not compete in Rio will now have a chance to show their active support and assist in elevating the game in order to ensure the SA squads can compete at the highest level and eliminate future selection controversies by achieving international qualifying criteria for major championships.

If the PHL takes off, it will open doors for the sport across the country, with the possibility of expansion down the line in an attempt to create a professional environment for the country’s top players.

We may tend to drift off when Mbalula starts to ramble, but when he mumbles something worthwhile it’s important we don’t allow it to be smothered by bizarre statements and politically charged claims.

Mbalula has spoken sense and followed through, laying the foundation for a potentially bright future for South African hockey.

The masses need to stand up now and take it forward, or when the sports minister starts yapping in another direction, a golden opportunity might be drowned out in all the noise.

And if a chance like this is wasted, the only people left to blame will be ourselves.