Sports
Olympic Games As Development Index
The Olympic Games, no doubt, is the highest sporting
competition worldwide.
Pierre De Coubertin is widely revered as the father and
founder of Modern Olympics since 1896.
Evidence abounds that the Olympic Games as a global sporting
competition is held after every four (4) year interval in a major city of a
developed economy.
A victory recorded in any event at the Olympics is highly
honoured because for one to win a laurel at the Olympic Games one has to compete
with the best athletes across the globe.
For a nation to be a contender of note at the Olympic Games
means to lead on the medals table consistently.
Interestingly, a close examination of leaders on the Olympic
medals table in the past thirty (30) years, for instance, evinces a fascinating
outcome, particularly as it affects the first ten countries on the overall
medals table.
One thing is clear; an unbiased evaluation of the Olympic
Medals Table in the past 30 years shows the dominance of the group of eight
industrialised nations popularly referred to as the G-8 among the top ten on
medals table.
It is worthy of mention that the G-8 nations include the
United States of America, United Kingdom, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan
and Canada.
These groups of industrialised nations are also regarded as
the Developed Economies of the world.
Worthy of note also is the fact that the five (5) permanent
members of the Security Council of the United Nations form the nucleus of the
G-8.
They include China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and
USA. As if that is not enough, the hosting rights is largely awarded to the
continents of Europe and North America and anytime the hosting right is granted
a nation outside the shores of Europe and North America, experience has shown
that an emerging economy might have been identified by the organisers, the
International Olympic Committee, IOC.
This emerging economy is dominated by the Asian tigers where
China, Japan, North and South Korea belong.
Today, another emerging economy so identified in the world
is Brazil and the city of Rio De Janeiro already has been awarded the hosting
right for the Olympic Games in 2016 while Pyeongchang in the Gangwon province
of South Korea will host the Olympic Games afterwards.
This observation has prompted many analysts to see the
Olympic Games as an economic growth indicator or a development index.
Similarly, after the First and Second World Wars, it does
appear that the developed economies comprising the five (5) permanent members
of the United Nations Security Council do not go to wars to exhibit greatness
and supremacy but to the Olympic Games.
Again, the dominance of these nations among the top ten (10)
countries on the medals table in the past thirty (30) years is a testament to the fact that the Olympics is
not just a sporting arena.
In which case, the Olympic Games have become the third world
war where developed economies, no longer, exhibit supremacy with guns and
ammunition but leadership through the acquisition of laurels as shown on the
Olympic Games medals table.
These developed economies are closely followed on the medals
table by the bailed out economies of Greece, Portugal and Spain before the
third world economies where Africa belongs.
It is pertinent to observe that, South Africa which is the
largest economy in Africa led on the London 2012 Olympic Games Medals Table
with three gold medals more than any other African State.
According to
Professor Willy Okowa, a Professor of Development Economics with the University
of Port Harcourt “The economy has a role to play. Those societies that have
huge economic output, such as USA, China, Japan, have behind their economic
success “organisation” and proper “administration of resources”.
Professor Okowa concluded that: Credible institutions would
have been created over the years to drive the economy, pointing out that it is
this organisation and strong institutions that sport has taken advantage of to
lead other economies at the Olympics.
In his submission, a professor of Economic History with the
University of Port Harcourt, Professor Ben Naanen described the Olympics Games
as a “theatre of social war and any nation participating in Olympic Games must
participate with the spirit of war”.
In his words, Dr Hycenth Amakiri Ajie, a Senior Lecturer in
Economics also with the University of Port Harcourt says, “Performance at the
Olympic Games reflects the state of economy”.
Professor Okowa earlier cited, emphasised that “societies
that have successfully built up their economies clearly have superior
organisation to those societies that are yet to do so”.
Truly, Africa nations must strive to improve their economies
to benefit from superior organisation and adequate resources from the organised
private sector, as government alone cannot provide all the needed funds for
sports including the Olympic Games.
Unfortunately, poor organisation weak institutions, poor
funding of sporting events as well as lack of good governance have caused many
African athletes to seek greener pastures in European nations, USA, Canada and
the Caribbeas.
Nigeria’s Christiana Ohuruogwu and Mo. Farrah of Somali
represented Great Britain and won laurels for
them, while some Cameroonian and athletes from Democratic Republic of
Congo defected during the London 2012 Summer Games.
Funny enough, the poor performance of African Countries and
defection of African athletes seemed to justify the Euro-centric views about
the continent which before now were largely considered as racist.
This is why in the affairs of nations, the Olympic Games is
largely considered by Afro-centric scholars as an avenue for Africa to prove
Euro-centric scholars wrong.
Thus, Nigeria’s
dismal performance at the just concluded London 2012 Olympic Games
remains a sad commentary.
This is because Nigeria is described as Africa’s “Big
Brother” and its absence on the 2012 London Olympics Medals table remains a
concern.
For instance, the flag of the Nation – Green White Green was
not flown throughout the games and the national anthem was not sung at anytime
during the Games because no athletes won laurels.
The winning of six gold, five silver and two bronze medals
at the recently concluded 2012 Paralympics, therefore, is a worthy consolation
indeed.
On the other hand, players of the Falconet who represented
Nigeria in FIFA U-20 Women World Cup in Japan and their technical crew got N1
million each and N1.2 million for coaches respectively.
In other African Countries, victorious athletes at the
Olympic Games received similar cash awards and accolade, while some athletes have
won various endorsements which will translate into the improvement of their
economic status.
As President Goodluck Jonathan ordered for restructuring of
the sports sector, it is pertinent that the proposed National Sports Retreat
expected to articulate the way forward, will consider a gamut of factors that
are not only sports related to achieve success.
This is absolutely necessary because Nigeria as a nation
cannot fail in security of lives and property, education, health, good
governance and electricity supply and do well alone at the Olympic Games. It is
not realistic.
The education sector where schools sports is strategic must
be restructured at all levels for a better outing at the Olympics, while
scholarship should be given to potential athletes, in school, be they in
secondary or tertiary institutions of learning.
Critical stakeholders in sports administration must exhibit
discipline and be frugal in the management of scarce resources.
In this regard, the anti-graft agencies such as EFCC must tackle
corruption in the polity including the sports sector.
As Professor Ben Naanen put it, “victory at the Olympic
Games is a function of proper training, equipment, support and public morals
while nations participating in Olympics must compete with the spirit of war”.
Adequate remuneration and reward for victorious athletes are
key to restoring confidence in the nation and boost morale of citizens. This is
why the recent Naira rain on the 2012 Paralympians and award of National Honour
by President Goodluck Jonathan is commendable.
Nigerians and indeed Africans must not justify the view that
unless one moves to Europe and USA one cannot excel in any field of endeavour.
Finally, Nigeria must set long term target and prepare ahead
so as to win big in the Olympics and in turn justify the nation’s “big brother
status in African diplomacy”.
Sika is a journalist with Radio Rivers, Port Harcourt.
Baridorn Sika
Andrea Cambiaso scored at both ends during the first half of Saturday’s Derby d’Italia, before Pierre Kalulu’s red card forced Juventus to play the entire second half a man light.
Substitute Francesco Pio Esposito got Inter back in front with a bullet header, then Manuel Locatelli’s pinpoint finish looked to have salvaged a point for the Bianconeri, before Zielinski struck on the cusp of stoppage time.
Juventus made the brighter start, but they were masters of their own downfall in the 17th minute, when Cambiaso deflected Luis Henrique’s cross beyond Michele Di Gregorio.
Cambiaso atoned within nine minutes, catching Henrique on his heels when Weston McKennie’s cross squirmed through to the back post and applying a side-footed finish.
But after Bremer cleared Zielinski’s dinked effort off the line, Juve’s hopes were damaged when Kalulu received his second yellow card for a 42nd-minute pull on Alessandro Bastoni, though the Inter centre-back appeared to go down theatrically.
Di Gregorio made a remarkable stop to thwart Hakan Calhanoglu, but as Juventus dropped ever deeper, they were punished when substitute Esposito guided Federico Dimarco’s searching cross into the far corner with 76 minutes on the clock.
It looked like Inter would have to settle for a point when Locatelli whipped a wonderful finish into the bottom-left corner in the 83rd minute, but Zielinski had the final say as his 20-yard drive fizzed through Locatelli’s legs and beat Di Gregorio.
A cloud of uncertainty has settled over Liverpool after comments from Hungary head coach Marco Rossi reignited speculation about Dominik Szoboszlai and Real Madrid.
Rossi, who has worked closely with Szoboszlai since his teenage years, revealed that the midfielder’s lifelong ambition is to play for the Spanish giants.
“Because of the very close and direct relationship I’ve had with Dominik since he was a child, Real Madrid has always been his dream,” Rossi said.
For a Liverpool side building around Szoboszlai as a centerpiece of Arne Slot’s project, those words landed hard.
Within hours of Rossi’s remarks, Szoboszlai interacted on social media with two Real Madrid players, applauding posts from Vinicius Junior and Trent Alexander-Arnold following Madrid’s win over Real Sociedad.
His reaction to Vinicius’ post drew particular attention. The exchange with Alexander-Arnold, his former Liverpool teammate, was seen as less surprising.
Still, in the hyper-connected world of elite soccer, even a digital thumbs-up can carry weight. On Merseyside, fans and pundits quickly began dissecting the meaning behind the interactions.
Szoboszlai, Hungary’s captain, has become one of Liverpool’s most influential players. That status is precisely why Rossi’s comments triggered such an intense reaction in England.
The midfielder had just delivered on the field as well, scoring in Liverpool’s 3-0 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Brighton & Hove Albion at Anfield.
After the match, Mohamed Salah heaped praise on his teammate, calling Szoboszlai “the best player in the world.” Slot struck a slightly more measured tone but echoed the sentiment.
“I think there are many elite players in the world, but I definitely agree with Mo that he is one of them,” Slot said. “He is very important for us.”
Szoboszlai is under contract at Liverpool through 2028. However, the club is reportedly eager to open extension talks in the coming months to secure his long-term future.
The player himself addressed the situation recently with notable candor.
“There’s nothing yet, to be honest. Nothing from now on. It’s not in my hands. That’s how it works,” he said. “There’s no progress, but if the right offer comes, we’ll see.”
He was equally clear about his affection for Liverpool.
“We’ll see what happens. Hopefully everyone will be happy in the end. Of course I want to stay. I like the city, I like the club, I like playing with these guys. I love Anfield, I love the fans. Let’s see what the future brings. It’s not my fault. I’d love to stay. We’ll see.”
Inter’s dramatic victory boosted their lead over rivals AC Milan to eight points, ahead of the Rossoneri hosting Como on Wednesday. Juventus, meanwhile, could drop out of the top four as Roma visited Napoli last night.
The last four Serie A matches between Inter and Juventus have produced a total of 21 goals (an average of 5.25 per game), compared to just nine in the previous six (1.5 per game).
Cambiaso became the first player in Derby d’Italia history to score and put through his own net in the same match between these old rivals, but it was Zielinski’s fifth Serie A goal of the season that proved decisive.
Inter will argue they were deserved victors after amassing 21 shots and 1.88 expected goals (xG), while Luciano Spalletti’s visitors mustered 10 shots and 0.92 xG – though the Bianconeri actually attempted six of their shots while down a man in the second half.
Premier League strugglers Wolves overcame resolute Grimsby Town in challenging conditions at Blundell Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round at the expense of the side that eliminated Manchester United in the last round.
Santiago Bueno scored from Wolves’ only shot on target with an hour played, diverting Joao Gomes’ cross past goalkeeper Jackson Smith with his thigh to end the League Two club’s resistance.
Unrelenting rainfall caused heavy ground underfoot and one penalty area in particular- that of Grimsby’s Smith in the first half – was already a quagmire before kick-off.
Charles Vernam shot narrowly wide from the edge of the box with just 43 seconds on the clock as Grimsby sought to catch their top-flight visitors cold.
Wolves had to wait until the 17th minute for their first opportunity of note, forward Tolu Arokodare firing over with a first-time attempt.
The white paint of the pitch markings soon blended and blurred with the mud as the surface rapidly deteriorated, and both sides struggled to stitch together cohesive attacks as passes travelled unpredictably across the sodden ground.