Rabat, Morocco, May 26, GNA – African football managers and administrators should be pragmatic in their approach to developing the sport, a Moroccan football analyst has advised.
Mr. Belaid Bouimid said the time has come for them to integrate science and technology in their planning of football-related activities, noting that this was necessary for the sustainable Sport Football Planning development of the sport.
“It is important that our managers and administrators set achievable objectives which are informed by research and data,” he noted, saying the continent had the potential to dominate world football given the right structures and systems in place.
Mr. Bouimid was speaking to the GNA Sports in Rabat, Morocco, on the sideline of a training seminar for sports journalists drawn from news agencies across the continent.
The week-long seminar is being organised by the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies (FAAPA) on the theme: “Mastery of Techniques for Good Practice of Sports Journalism”.
The objective is to build the capacity of the participants for optimal performance within the context of the emerging challenges associated with sports journalism.
It has brought together some of the seasoned and veteran sports journalists on the African continent to share experiences and also expose the participants to the rudiments in sports reporting.
Topics being discussed cover sports journalism in the digital age, sport and socio-economic development issues, sport and communication and cultural issues, ethics and professional conduct of the sports journalist.
Mr. Bouimid said it was critical that the continent learnt from the experiences and success stories of well-developed football countries, citing how Europe had over the years taken the sport to appreciable standards due to good planning.
“Football management is a serious business, and we cannot continue to do business as usual,” he cautioned.
According to the veteran football analyst, there could be no meaningful growth of the sport on the continent without considerable investment in infrastructure, training of technical men and instructors, as well as long-term planning.
In his view, putting in place the required structures right from the juvenile to the senior level could not be glossed over, if the continent was to harness her potential in football for socio-economic development.
Comparing the performance of teams from the north and sub-Saharan Africa, for instance, Mr. Bouimid indicated that the former had been dominating club football on the continent in recent times due to their appreciation of the changing trends in the sport.
“Teams from north Africa are employing good technical handlers, paying players reasonable salaries and putting their infrastructure in good shape, while also attracting good sponsorship packages.
“This has given them a competitive advantage over their counterparts from sub-Saharan Africa, and until the status quo changes things will be as they are now,” he noted.
