Learning sport from Tanzania
By Aamir Bilal
While still in office, Tanzaniaís recently-retired president William Makapa made a national speech in which he declared that sport is vital for development and should be included in all national programmes and policies. More recently, current president Jakaya Mirsho kikwete, reinforced his views. Declaring that sport is a national priority and emphasising its importance as an essential component of children's overall education, the president has called for physical education and sport to be taught at all educational levels from primary school to university. This is the vision and the political will that drives the nation's youth and its resources to fetch glory for its country where sport has emerged as a priority for its leadership.

PCB's irrational actions
To be condemned is excruciating but to be damned for unexplained reasons leading to malicious conjecturing is heart wrenching.
By Dr Nauman Niaz
Is there anyone at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) thinking, talking or acting with inclusion of rationality? Ijaz Butt, the 'cream of the crop' chairman of the PCB, has shown his ham-fisted decision-making powers, and as usual springing overboard he first ordered his Senior General Manager Finance to implement deductions of fines imposed on the leading cricketers by the contentious disciplinary committee instituted to ascertain the causes of defeat in Australia and not, as it seems, legally or morally authorised to recommend punishments, so it may well be.

A litany of complaints fills our newspapers with the ills and sins of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). I felt it only fair therefore that one should come with some suggestions as to how matters can be corrected. This article is not meant as a blueprint for cricket or cricket management in Pakistan as that would take up more space than is available but I hope to certainly specify a system that is detailed enough for readers to consider and criticise or find useful. It is intended to outline principles that should guide the grassroots for the game in Pakistan, a tournament system to act as a sieve for the players so that the best rise to the top and a management structure of the PCB sufficiently for individuals abler than me in authority to fill in the blanks. Let me admit that I have taken liberally from the system that has served Pakistan well in the past. It produced vast numbers of talented cricketers at all levels and a Pakistan team that won laurels and became world beaters. I am a strong believer in the maxim; if it works do not mess with it.

The grassroots of Pakistan cricket must be the clubs. If we recall just about every reasonable ground or space available used to be and still is taken up by children of all ages playing cricket. The teams are children who band together from mohallas or schools and as they grow older organise themselves into clubs. These clubs over time almost take over 'ownership' of parts of a ground where they play weekly/bi-weekly or even practice on a daily basis. These clubs are registered by the Town/City/Area organisations that in turn themselves are registered to the cricket board. This was and is the only workable and wide based system that suits our genius. The most important part of this system is the definition of what constitutes a 'Club'. This rule must be clearly and precisely defined by the PCB. In fact the previous system also made an effort to do this. In my proposed system the PCB should have a special department to enforce these rules through the entire country to ensure that only legitimate clubs are registered with their respective controlling bodies. This department must not have any discretionary powers in enforcing the rules laid down by the PCB. The clubs should be ranked into two categories. These clubs should have an annual tournament under the aegis of the Town/City/Area body and a system of promotion and demotion should apply. The Town/City/Area bodies were known as associations. These organisations should select representative teams from the clubs. The number of clubs registered with them should be the yardstick for the number of teams they can field. These teams should form the first-class cricket base in Pakistan. These teams should be graded into categories such that only six teams will participate in the national tournament. The various institutions/departments must be encouraged to maintain their own teams as was done in the past. In the old system it was mandatory for the institutions to develop their home grounds. This should be enforced. The institutions/departments should be assisted by the PCB to develop their home grounds even to the extent of leasing its own grounds to them on a long-term basis. This would at least ensure proper maintenance. The PCB should offer maximum possible assistance to the institutions to ensure that they get the media exposure necessary to justify their expenditure on their teams. The institutions should also grade their teams into groups through a tournament such that four of the top teams would participate in the national tournament with promotion and demotion to operate within the groups. Only two national tournaments should be held one for the long form and one for the short form of the game. No player desirous of playing for the country should be excused from participating in the domestic season and the national tournaments. Pakistan's domestic and first-class cricket season should be programmed and announced annually in advance. Matches should be properly scheduled and conducted under the control of the associations.

The PCB's chief patron --the President of Pakistan -- should appoint a committee of three to oversee cricket in the country. This committee will be answerable to patron. They should be selected one each from the banking, private business, and the legal sectors of Pakistan. One would be elected from amongst them to be the non executive chairman of the PCB. The committee would select and appoint a Chief Executive Officer who would also be the Managing Director of the PCB. For all intents and purposes the PCB should operate as a private limited company. The Board of the PCB would consist of individuals who are themselves elected first by the clubs to their associations and they in turn will elect 9 members to represent them in the PCB. The Board would have 12 directors of whom 3 would be technocrats/players selected by the CEO and the 9 representatives of the associations.

I would like to stress that in the space available an effort has been made to act as a pointer to a system that in my view will assist in regaining our lost glories. It is by no means detailed nor does it pretend to have all the answers. Furthermore, the essence of this system is taken from the old constitution of the PCB with some tweaking to make it more responsive to the present needs.

The first football World Cup which had each one of its fixtures telecasted live in Pakistan by it's state television channel, PTV, was that of 1998. And even though Zinedine Zidane was the player of the tournament, there was no other player who captivated the minds of millions of football fans across the globe than Ronaldo LuÌs Nazario de Lima, commonly known as Ronaldo.

Racking up four goals and three assists en route to the final against hosts France, Ronaldo was nicknamed as 'O Fenomeno' (The phenomenon) by players, coaches, journalists and fans alike. Football fans in Pakistan too were not left unimpressed by any stretch of the imagination. Brazil's run to the final was supported and hailed by the people in Pakistan and their loss in the final at Stade de France was grieved.

Fast-forward to 2002 and Brazil was again amongst the favourites to lift the crown in Korea-Japan. And this time, they did not disappoint. The trio of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo took Brazil to glory as the Football World Cup seconded its cricket counterpart in terms of sport event viewership in the country.

Lately, football has had an immense following in Pakistan. And it is not just in Lyari -- Karachi's football hub -- where the game is enjoying a massive support. Football has become the glamour sport in Pakistan and football tournaments are held in schools, colleges and universities and are played with almost the same excitement as cricket.

The 2006 World Cup saw its quarter-finals, semis and the final itself being screened at various places across Pakistan, similar to the fan-zones set up all across the world. These attracted large crowds of football enthusiasts and since then, Pakistan has got to grips with the 'beautiful game'.

The Football World Cup 2010 is being highly anticipated in the country. The excitement has reached new levels and there is strong support for countries like Germany, Argentina, England, Spain and Italy in the showpiece. Team jerseys have been put on sale at various sports shops in the country and are being sold like hot cakes as Pakistanis try to show their colours of support for the teams they would be supporting in the month-long gala that starts on June 11.

"I want the new Germany jersey with Michael Ballack's name on it," says Shehzore Ahmed, a CA student.

Disappointment over David Beckham not being able to feature in the World Cup is also there. Beckham is adored by millions around the world and enjoys a massive support here in Pakistan as well.

"Beckham is my favourite player but with him not being there, I would be with Lionel Messi," says Ahmed Qaiser, a student of NED University.

For Fatima Niazi, a sub-editor at 'The News', Cristiano Ronaldo will take over as the glamour boy for the extravaganza.

"Ronaldo is amazing. He has great skill and the looks. I am supporting Portugal and I think he would inspire them to glory," she said.

Brazil, though, are the heartbeat of a vast majority in the country. And it has been because of players like Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Kaka. Brazil's style of play too has won them a large number of fans and in their unique way of playing football in accordance with the 'Samba' music; they seem to have caught the imagination of many in the country.

Absar Taqvi, a student of NED University Karachi, says he has been supporting Brazil since the 1998 showpiece; mostly in part due to Ronaldo. "I saw Ronaldo playing for Brazil in France and the love for football and Brazil naturally developed. My favourite Brazilian footballer now, however, in Ronaldinho," he said.

Bilal Qazi, a student of NUCES-FAST Karachi, too has Ronaldinho as his favourite player. "Ronaldinho is brilliant ... he displays mesmerizing skill with the ball!" he says.

Chances of Ronaldinho of featuring in South Africa, though, look bleak. The AC Milan ace has been dropped by Brazil's national team coach Dunga and even though Brazil great Pele wants Ronaldinho to be a part of the squad for the 2010 showpiece, Brazil's current system of play would not allow him to play in his natural position with Kaka taking his place behind the strikers.

And for Sohaib Tahir, Absar Taqvi's classmate, Kaka would be the beacon that would guide Brazil to the World Cup. "Kaka is a truly amazing player. His master class would help Brazil to the title," he remarks.

Disappointment over Ronaldinho's probable absence in South Africa, however, is immense.

Umer Farooq, an intermediate student, wants to see Ronaldinho featuring in the showpiece and he wishes to even see Ronaldo playing for the Selecao. "It would be sad not to see Ronaldinho on the world's greatest stage," he says adding that, "Ronaldo was one of the best strikers in the world and the way he would go past defenders, leaving them bamboozled, was a sight to watch. It would be dream come true if he plays in South Africa."

Whoever plays and whoever does not play would be in Dunga's hands but one thing that is for sure that Brazil would be given a vociferous backing in Pakistan all throughout the spectacle in South Africa.

Learning sport from Tanzania

While still in office, Tanzaniaís recently-retired president William Makapa made a national speech in which he declared that sport is vital for development and should be included in all national programmes and policies. More recently, current president Jakaya Mirsho kikwete, reinforced his views. Declaring that sport is a national priority and emphasising its importance as an essential component of children's overall education, the president has called for physical education and sport to be taught at all educational levels from primary school to university. This is the vision and the political will that drives the nation's youth and its resources to fetch glory for its country where sport has emerged as a priority for its leadership.

In Tanzania, sport is understood as a means to advance the economic, social, and cultural well being of all Tanzanians. While the current national sports policy does not include a formal definition of sport or sport for development, the policy is being reviewed and these definitions are now being included in the updated policy.

The United Republic of Tanzania has a national sport policy, formulated in 1995, that clearly acknowledges sport as a tool for development. The policy maintains that sport is a cross-cutting tool and that every government department has a part to play in developing the sport culture. The ministry of education the state department of youth, and the armed forces all play particularly important roles, with a focus on developing competitive sports in the country.

The existing policy does not currently target specific groups or population; however the government is reviewing is national sport policy to ensure that it complies with the current position of the UN, and to see how it can be improved and implemented more effectively.

Pursuant to the president's declaration the government has instructed the ministry of education to ensure that every school -- from the primary to university level -- has qualified sport and physical education teacher.

Teacher training collages are also incorporating physical education and sport management into their curriculum so that all future graduates have the capacity to teach physical education and take on scientific coaching and management of sport at the appropriate level. Unlike our system the cost of incorporating sport in the system in being covered in the education budget of Tanzania.

In addition, the national sport policy of Tanzania emphasises the development of professional sport as means of employment and poverty eradication.

The government of Tanzania sees human development, health promotion and disease prevention, community development, building of individuals and social capital, conflict resolution and peace building, economic development, gender equity and advancement of human rights as the potential benefit of sports for development and peace in the country which was once marked by gross human rights violations and HIV Aids.

Pakistan sports gurus and organisations responsible for reconstruction in FATA, South and North Waziristan must learn to rise above intellectual mediocrity to use sport in the best national interest, to create a broad base sport culture and use the tool of sport for the promotion of peace in the post conflict rebuilding phase of FATA, Swat and Buner.

The Tanzanian government is working actively to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities through sport to the Paralympics and Special Olympics. It has also asked all of the country's sport associations to establish Women's Committees to work on increasing the participation of girls and women in sport.

The government has pumped US$12,500,000 in capital sports projects primarily the construction of new sport stadium in Dares Salaam. Unlike us where the question mark hangs around the fate of local governments, the Tanzanian national sport policy encourages local government to have local sport grounds for community based sport for all kind of sport activities.

The lead department within the government is the sport development department located within the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sports. The Sport Development Department coordinates implementation of the National Sport Policy.

We all understand that it needs mountains to move and whirlwinds to blow to make our pathetic sport decision-makers understand the value of data collection, research and paper work involved in meticulous sports planning, which is certainly not a piece of cake.

The Sport Development Department also works closely with in National Sport Council of Tanzania, an independent agency established by the Ministry of Information, Culture and Sport. The council's chair is appointed by the ministry and is usually a Member of Parliament or other senior decision-maker. The council coordinates the activity of national sport associations with regard to sport development, sport for all, and high performance competitive sport.

The government holds an annual internal sport competition for all of its employees, regardless of age or gender. The government also has developed a process to involve a board rang of stakeholder at the district and national level while the sport development department is highly decentralised with programs developed and managed at district level.

Further to president declaration, sport is being fully integrated in the Tanzania national education system at all level that makes sport education as the corner stone of sport development in the country.

Tanzania is also host to many refugees affected by conflict in neighboring countries like Rwanda, Congo and Burundi. The sport development department has succeeded in bringing refugees together through sport to reduce conflict and foster peaceful coexistence.

The sport development department also works closely with the youth department on a programme to help unemployed youth. Like Pakistan, the Ministry of Education of Tanzania was also opposed to school-based sport training and competition. Under the leadership of the new President, this policy has been reversed.

As the national sport policy has been legislated, it has helped the sport development department to enhance regulation of sport operators and administrators, and to foster better, more democratic governance among sport associations.

I need not emphasise the importance of a dynamic, well thought sport policy for development of sport in Pakistan nor I have to over-emphasise the importance of sport for peace, development and education in Pakistan.

Pakistan is one of the thirty eight countries of the world that joined the Sport for Development and Peace International Working Group (SDP IWG) in Beijing in 2008. And if this was not just another formality but a well thought, conscious and serious step taken by the sport ministry, then Pakistan will have to act quickly like Tanzania.

Aamir Bilal is a qualified coach sdfsports@gmail.com

Is there anyone at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) thinking, talking or acting with inclusion of rationality? Ijaz Butt, the 'cream of the crop' chairman of the PCB, has shown his ham-fisted decision-making powers, and as usual springing overboard he first ordered his Senior General Manager Finance to implement deductions of fines imposed on the leading cricketers by the contentious disciplinary committee instituted to ascertain the causes of defeat in Australia and not, as it seems, legally or morally authorised to recommend punishments, so it may well be.

As it was, they responded as if they were representing a judicial tribunal? And once the fines and penalties were put into service, Mr. Butt did a volte face by suspending the Sr. General Manager Finance!

Pejorative decision-making of Butt and his elitist top-tier including Wasim Bari and Yawar Saeed, it evidences, depreciatively, to describe thinking and actions, that are, or appear to be, less useful or specious than other more rational alternatives.

How would you describe an inquiry proceeding, a trial, with judge-jury-prosecutor rolled into one, passing down draconian sentences for unexplained, unannounced reasons. How would you describe the victims of such a diabolical witch-hunt? How would you describe the predicament of a celebrated sportsman, like Shoaib Malik, who not so long ago was the captain of the national team, but now has fallen foul of the administration for inexplicable reasons and has been reprimanded from the scene and fined heavily?

To be condemned is excruciating but to be damned for unexplained reasons leading to malicious conjecturing is heart wrenching. Not only have the cardinal canons of justice been thrown overboard in this farcical trial, by not allowing the condemned cricketers access to any evidence furnished against them, nor allowing them to cross examine their accusers, but the way the reasoning behind such penalties have been concealed from the public reeks of malevolence and trickery.

Malik may not have been chastised unheard but he surely has been denied a fair crack of the whip. He is not above the law or bigger than the game, but he surely not is son of a lesser God either.

Butt, in case of his knee-jerk response, evidently more to show the powers his resolute mind-set and zero tolerance to indiscipline, and also negating the accusations that his government was one of status quo, adopted to an bizarre behavior, taking offence, or becoming angry about a situation that wasn't as precarious as it seemed (poor management and its failure in Australia) had much more to do with evolution of splinter groups within the team and also Mohammad Yousaf, PCB's appointee's underscored, and his meekly captaincy than to whimsically chastise top players. Butt, since his arrival as Chairman of the PCB, contrary to his debonair when he was engaged in cricket management at the local level, even as manager and secretary of the BCCP, has expressed emotions exaggeratedly, hysterically, maintaining unrealistic expectations, engaging in irresponsible conduct such as accusing cricketers of match-fixing and then five minutes later backtracking. Disorganisation, or extravagance, and falling victim to confidence tricks have been more noticeable in PCB's sequence of unabated blunders.

As Butt ratified the bans/suspensions/ and financial penalties and readily implemented the decisions, three days later, letters were released to the hauled over the coal players. Reportedly, Malik has been accused of i) creating intrigues and replicating his negative thoughts and causing disharmony among the team members.

Rationality aside, what's the 'replication of negative thoughts'-is it about a virus replicating into trillion more? ii) Referral has been made to Senate's Standing Committee on Sports about recommending that he wasn't fit enough to captain the Pakistan team and in writing, the PCB points to the recommendation being made in February 2009; cheeky still? Why was Malik appointed captain for the Twenty20 in Australia and also for the two matches against England in the Dubai recently? Was, as usual, the PCB in a slumber and now suddenly they have given weight to the Senate Standing Committee on Sports suggestions, iii) it is also stated in the letter that he chickened out of a practice match at Queenstown feigning an ankle and finger injury after realizing that the pitch was green and uneven? It is still fascinating to observe that Malik having represented Pakistan in 29 Tests, 190 One-day Internationals, 30 T20, 91 first-class and 266 List 'A' matches with a collection of 20 centuries in all formats and still he 'feigned' an injury in a three-day bizarre side-match in New Zealand?

Then there is another subjective revelation in the letter that captain and team manager/coach constantly complained about his behavior which caused unrest and disharmony among the players; was he stronger than the meekly manager or an ageing coach or he had terrorized the dressing room with unashamed assaults on his contemporaries? And if he was intriguing why did the team manager wait to take an action; he must have carried the ICC Code of Conduct and PCB Code of Conduct booklets with him and he could have asked Malik to fly back to Pakistan, suspended on breach of discipline and for conspiring against the team; why wasn't it done then and why was he appointed captain for the solitary Twenty20 in Australia? v) It is evidenced that due to his recalcitrant behavior he is not worthy enough to be selected for the team Pakistan.

The charge-sheet prepared against Malik is a pile of conjectures and surmises and no cogent, unimpeachable and incontrovertible evidence has been adduced to substantiate the charges. And without taking into consideration Malik's future as an international player in an indecently hasty and curiously secretive inquiry proceedings he was banned for a maximum period of twelve months and he hasn't been provided access to the evidence placed against him nor was he allowed to cross examine his accusers/witnesses as reported.

Genuinely, Malik might well have been intriguing since his removal as country's captain, he may well not be an angel and he could still have behaved mischievously but how could he do that? Weren't there any team management and on one end he is being banned and the 'failed' coach Intikhab Alam, being Butt's age-old friend has been picked as Director National Cricket Academy and Game Development. And the team manager, Abdur Raqeeb has been seen with cynicism and skepticism by the PCB for having supposedly 'changed' his statement while appearing on television; where is the credibility?

Such decisions only depict more contemporary normative conceptions of what constitutes a manifestation of irrationality are difficult to demonstrate empirically because it is not clear by whose standards we are to judge the behavior rational or irrational. It seems true for the top-tier of the PCB that there are people whose actual interests differ from what they believe to be their interests. Presumably, these people fail to realize the irrationality of their actions and believe they are acting perfectly rational, possibly due to flaws in their reasoning.

Ironically, Butt has shown the tendency and leaning to act, emote and think in ways that are inflexible, unrealistic, absolutist and most importantly self-and social-defeating and destructive. Under the given circumstances, the trio and all ex-captains Malik like Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousaf has seemingly been a victim of irrationality?