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Brian
Lewis
The
Sport Arena editor, God bless him, told me that there will
only be two more editions for the rest of the year, unfortunately
for me that means that I will be at the mercy of my better
half and her Christmas demands.
It is all rather ill timed. My excuse, especially, between
Fridays and Sundays that I need quiet time, energy and concentration
to come up with and develop an idea for Things That Matter
column will for the remainder of December and part of January
no longer hold water, Cest la Vie.
I also had to make some hard choices as to which topics
to defer to next year as 2008 winds down.
One thing that did not change in 2008 is that the enormous
value of sport remained untapped. In fact, arguably, the
ongoing failure of T&T to get on the sport business
bandwagon from a strategic perspective is evidence that
there is an absence of the required entrepreneurial thinking
needed to diversify the country’s economy.
Sport, art, culture and agriculture are sectors that remain
underdeveloped but since this is a sport related column
I will “stay in my section” and confine my comments
to sport.
When will sport be given a chance? The banking sector remains
unsympathetic to the financial needs of sport organisations.
The strategic and policy makers in media houses don’t
allocate the necessary resources to their respective sport
departments. Educators, parents, employers, non-sport enthusiasts,
politicians, business people et al continue to under appreciate
the true value and power of sport.
For all its esoteric, intangible, social and healthy life
style benefits, there are sustainable, pragmatic, tangible
and economic benefits that can justify the development of
a Sport business sector.
Sport Tourism is an example, and no disrespect is intended
to anyone but it is no secret among sport organisations
that the strategic and policy making track record of the
Tourism development authorities has been inadequate or non
existence.
Even though it is mentioned in the developed nation by 20/20
report, there is no sport event or sport business sector
development strategy. Every one who has some financial clout
seems to be only interested in the traditional buy low and
sell high business model?
As the year comes to an end and oil prices head south, cost
cutting mode probably means that most sports related proposals
are dead in the water.
It is a shortsighted option as a sport business sector can
provide stimulus to the economy and create jobs. In fact
if you do research on most developed and developing nations
you will discover that sports and major sport event hosting
are key strategic imperatives.
What will it take to develop a vibrant sport business sector?
The same inputs required to develop any other sector. So
you may well ask why is it that we seem to be missing the
boat.
The answer is simple; lack of vision, lack of knowledge,
lack of will and a closed mind.
It has been said before and will be said again and again.
We are sitting on a gold mine. T&T has a mother lode
of sporting talent and opportunity. Our sporting reserves
are far greater than oil and gas. When oil and gas runs
out we will still be producing raw natural athletic, artistic
and cultural and economic talent.
Empowering and sharing the wealth is not perceived as a
genuine characteristic of the elite.
Who knows, as far fetched as it may seem, maybe an underlying
issue is that those who control and seek to retain control
of the economic wealth do not believe they control the sport
business sector; a sector which in the main tends to be
oriented to micro, small and medium Enterprises.
Sport is not top down but bottom up. It is people first.
Where does art, music and sport emanate.
Someone may control land or a building but can you control
the human spirit. You can suppress it for a time but not
forever, control is not the answer, freedom is.
How do we move the sport business agenda to the front burner?
It will take an open mind rather than an open mouth given
the human tendency to impose rather than persuade, to stifle
debate and intimidate rather than listen.
Brian Lewis is the general secretary of the Trinidad &
Tobago Olympic Committee (T&TOC). The views expressed
are his own and not necessarily those of the TTOC.
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