16/01/2024
There's nothing wrong with our leaders doing talent promotion in name of youth empowerment through sports. But the critical question is, when only a fraction of youths benefits, what about the others?
Take the example of a ward with like ten football teams, if a team has a maximum of 25 players, this means the trickle benefits will go to 250 youths, but that's not the reality. When it comes to prize money, tradition always has only the first three teams benefitting, while the rest can go to lick their raw wounds!
But before any sponsored tournament, the teams will be required to pay registration fees first in order to participate. Is the team benefitting the organizers or benefitting itself? Consider each team will also cater for its own transport to and from diverse venues.
After the tournament is over, what would the now "empowered" but jobless youths do?
Can leaders be realistic and do real empowerment that will see the youth financially empowered through gainful employment? You see a youth group coming up with a business proposal and presents to the leader but the latter tells them to first get half of the projected capital and the leader will mobilize for the rest! That ends killing a dream as the poor youths have no wherewithal means to get funds for a project needing high capital injection. Forget the Youth Fund as it cannot fund a startup whose market viability is untested.
As long as our youths are empowered through sports only, their situation will never change. Not everyone in a team will attract a scout's eye and be absorbed in top tier league or go abroad.
More importantly, why can't leaders canvass for youth groups to get tenders instead of dishing handouts and using them as campaign tools?
