Monday, 15 October 2012

Remove individual sports bodies!

Moving to the second topic, I came across this article recently. I had earlier talked here and here about BCCI and other sports. Let us get a few things straight:
1. In my opinion any organization which claims to do anything representative of the nation has to be open to public scrutiny irrespective of the source of its funds.
2. Cricket is the richest sport and BCCI - India's richest sports body - claims to select an Indian cricket team.
3. There is a sports ministry which is responsible for sports overall.
4. Various key positions in sports organizations today are manned by politicians.

In such a scenario I propose that there be modifications made to the overall structure.
1. There will be a sports minister and ministry above all.
2. Let there be IAS officers in-charge of the day-to-day administration of individual sports. These should be assisted in an advisory role by a respected sports player.
3. However for selection only experienced sportsperson should be present. Further they should also play a clear and prominent role to decide the training needs of the sportspersons.
4. There should not be any individual purses for the various sports bodies. Let there be a common pool for all funds. This might sound unjustified to some. Why should the funds obtained through sponsorship rights of say a cricket match be used for tennis? Well, I pay tax to the government. Do I have the right to claim that the government provide solely for my needs only? Is it justified (I am pretty sure Ayn Rand is turning in her grave)? However sportspersons represent the nation on the global stage. It is the government's responsibility to ensure they are properly trained. Let us not participate for participation's sake.
5. The news article mentioned above talks about funds being given to sports bodies run by PT Usha et al. This is a great idea. These are people who have won laurels for the country and themselves. Let there be all possible help for them.
6. However in all cases there should be accountability. This is zero today. Suresh Kalmadi was never penalized during his entire tenure as head of India's Olympics Committee for our dismal performance year-after-year.
7. We cannot avoid politicians in India. Let them be the overall bosses only if required. Please let our boards not be populated by them unnecessarily.

What right do the likes of Sharad Pawar, Arun Jaitley and Rajeev Shukla claim to be on the boards of cricket bodies? Today there is money in cricket. We find politicians in profusion there. Tomorrow if there is money elsewhere we will find them there.

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