Kudos to Chrissy, Bobby
Comment
by Donald Duff
Stabroek News
May 22, 2002
Two young entrepreneurs have given lie to the belief that sport in Guyana can only progress if there is substantial government input.
While governmental support in providing facilities is a must there are also several other factors that influence sporting progress.
Chrissy Douglas and Bobby Cadogan, with initiative and drive have revived the game of basketball, brought back the fans and shown what is achievable if there are persons committed to working in the interest of something they love.
It is not that Chrissy and Bobby have done something new. No it is not.
The distinction of taking a sports event and transforming it into a budding financial enterprise lies with Aubrey `Shanghai' Major and Kashif Muhammad, two suave young entrepreneurs from the mining town of Linden.
What Major and Muhammad have accomplished in ten years of promoting the annual Christmas football extravanganza is now history.
Chrissy and Bobby are now beginning to write their own history in the sport of basketball.
Before this year, the crowds had dwindled away, tournaments were few and far between and in general basketball seemed to be going the way of several others - stagnation.
The blame for this situation could be attributed in some way to the various sub-associations that run the sport in Guyana.
Sub Associations and national federations are there to help promote and develop their sport.
Their roles include staging and running off of tournaments, fund raising and selection of national teams to participate at international tournaments.
A properly run sub-association or national federation, whose finances are audited at least once a year in keeping with constitutional requirements, can be an asset to sports and the athletes that depend on them for guidance and support.
Sadly it does seem to appear more and more that some persons elected to serve on sports bodies do so merely for their own benefit.
The bitter fighting that is a characteristic of the upcoming FIFA presidential election to be contested by incumbent Sepp Blatter and Issa Hayatou can also be found here to a lesser degree.
In fact, recently two persons have claimed to be elected president of the West Demerara Cricket Association and our local Guyana Football Federation elections for president has had its fair share of controversy since Colin Klass ascended the presidential throne more than a decade ago. It does seem at this point that there is dire need for dedicated, conscientious, hard working, sports loving persons to serve as the catalyst to jump start sports programmes in a meaningful way.
Perhaps what sports federations, sub- associations and clubs need are dynamic entrepreneurs whose functions are to get the sports programmes off the ground.