Rural sports neglected
31 July 2019 | Sports
The chairperson of the JS Kahonzo third-tier league, Lyvere Voito, has accused government leaders of neglecting sport development in rural areas.
Voito made the remark in an interview with Ewi lyaNooli at Mpora village in Ncamagoro constituency in the Kavango West Region.
Voito said their biggest challenge is a lack of support from government and business people, as well as the lack of sports facilities in the region.
Voito said government officials and parliamentarians turn their backs on the villages where they grew up.
Sport organisers have to fund activities from their own pockets, which he believes should not be the case.
“You can have good ideas of running sports but if there is no financial support, what can you do?” he asked.
“We are trying our level best but the problem is the support, we are not getting enough support. So I am just urging especially the parliamentarians to support us. We know them very well, some of them are from our villages and they live here but when they go to Windhoek they forget about us. There is no way we can develop sports in our villages if they do not support us.”
Voito also questioned why so much focus is placed on the national teams.
He said many promising sportsmen and women were scouted at their villages but no efforts have been made to keep sport alive at the rural and regional level.
“Why is the focus placed on teams such as the Brave Warriors when it comes to funding? Those players come from the rural villages, where people don't want to invest in it,” he questioned.
Voito further argues that a lack of sport activities in the regions contributes to social problems such as alcohol and drug abuse and teenage pregnancy.
“Boys at least have soccer to keep them busy, but what about the girls? If you look around, there is no girl at the field. This is because girls have no sport opportunities in the community. These are some of the reasons why teenage pregnancy will not decrease in our communities,” Voito said.
Voito said well-funded sport activities would eradicate most social evils, as sport requires healthy minds and bodies.
On the JS Kahonzo league, Voito said the league was last active in 2016 because of the inactive second-division and first-division leagues.
They managed to keep football alive by organising village football tournaments where the teams' registration fees are used as prize money.
Voito said they are in the process of selecting players for the Governor's Cup in December.
The Ncamagoro Constituency Cup, scheduled for 16 to 18 August, will offer an ideal opportunity for selecting players to represent the constituency at the Governor's Cup tournament.
KENYA KAMBOWE
Voito made the remark in an interview with Ewi lyaNooli at Mpora village in Ncamagoro constituency in the Kavango West Region.
Voito said their biggest challenge is a lack of support from government and business people, as well as the lack of sports facilities in the region.
Voito said government officials and parliamentarians turn their backs on the villages where they grew up.
Sport organisers have to fund activities from their own pockets, which he believes should not be the case.
“You can have good ideas of running sports but if there is no financial support, what can you do?” he asked.
“We are trying our level best but the problem is the support, we are not getting enough support. So I am just urging especially the parliamentarians to support us. We know them very well, some of them are from our villages and they live here but when they go to Windhoek they forget about us. There is no way we can develop sports in our villages if they do not support us.”
Voito also questioned why so much focus is placed on the national teams.
He said many promising sportsmen and women were scouted at their villages but no efforts have been made to keep sport alive at the rural and regional level.
“Why is the focus placed on teams such as the Brave Warriors when it comes to funding? Those players come from the rural villages, where people don't want to invest in it,” he questioned.
Voito further argues that a lack of sport activities in the regions contributes to social problems such as alcohol and drug abuse and teenage pregnancy.
“Boys at least have soccer to keep them busy, but what about the girls? If you look around, there is no girl at the field. This is because girls have no sport opportunities in the community. These are some of the reasons why teenage pregnancy will not decrease in our communities,” Voito said.
Voito said well-funded sport activities would eradicate most social evils, as sport requires healthy minds and bodies.
On the JS Kahonzo league, Voito said the league was last active in 2016 because of the inactive second-division and first-division leagues.
They managed to keep football alive by organising village football tournaments where the teams' registration fees are used as prize money.
Voito said they are in the process of selecting players for the Governor's Cup in December.
The Ncamagoro Constituency Cup, scheduled for 16 to 18 August, will offer an ideal opportunity for selecting players to represent the constituency at the Governor's Cup tournament.
KENYA KAMBOWE
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