They say all good things must come to an end but they never told us about exhausting and tiring endeavors. Of Course, those come to an end as well but there are times when it looks like they won’t. This definitely was the case with the Ethiopian Football Federation’s presidential and executive committee election. Months and months of chaos, disagreements, and meetings finally came to an end on Sunday as the assembly voted a new President. The time for talks and promises is now over. It is now time to start asking some serious questions about the current state of our football and what the newly elected members and especially the President are planning to do about them.
-The first issue that comes to mind is how the new Federation will be organized. Over the past couple of years absence of a clear goal and lack of organization when it comes to delegating responsibilities held the country’s football behind. When something wrong happens we don’t know who to ask or blame as there is no specific office or personnel assigned to a specific activity. It all finally comes down to pointing fingers and using someone else as a scapegoat as has happened in relation to the Ethiopian U-17 national team.
The new president did promise that under his reign people with special skills will be assigned to specific departments. This is one of the positive changes we hope to see. The members held their first meeting on Tuesday. Former Ethiopian National team manager Sewenet Bishaw, who is also a newly elected member of the executive committee, will be in charge of conducting a study on the national team before decisions like appointing a new manager are made. This is a step in the right direction but it should not stop there. People should be assigned to a role they are qualified for.
In relation to that, it is an absolute necessity that the Federation starts using Social Media to reach out to the media and to thousands of football fans out there. It not only makes the federation look transparent but it will also enable it to document its activities in a clear manner. The Kenyan Football Federation was using its Facebook account to stream their Women’s national team game against Equatorial Guinea when ours lost 3-1 away to Algeria on the same day. We had to find channels and links in order to follow our own national team. It is the little things that matter. Working without the use of Social Media as means of disseminating information in this day and age is impossible.
– The second issue is perhaps the one that is the root cause of all the problems in our football. The structure of local leagues is backward and the recent uprise of fan violence is further burying our football into the ground. It only took two days after the election of the new president for another violence to occur. The game between title challengers Jimma Aba Jifar and defending Champions St. George was interrupted twice. The home fans showered the visiting fans with stones for the first interruption. St, George fans invaded the pitch after opposing a penalty that was given against them in the last minutes. Similar unsporting behaviors were also seen in the game between Hawassa Ketema and Sidama Bunna where fans threw plastic bottles at each other and on the players. Woldia and Wolwalo, two teams whose fans and team members (respectively) attacked referees were punished recently. But the punishment was significantly decreased after Social Media shouts for ‘Justice’ and a couple of angry letters from fan clubs and regional states. Will that be the case under the new management? Will they get tough on violence? Will they assign an adequate number of security members in stadiums? Will referees have enough protection? Will players and managers who threaten and abuse referees be punished according to the law? Is there even a proper law for addressing these issues?
– And now we ask questions about the Waliyas and the Lucies. Will the new administration learn from the mistakes of the previous reign and start appointing managers way before a qualifier starts? Or will it just be as the Amharic saying ‘The wedding is here, start collecting chilies?’ (my translation may not be spot on but I think the majority of Ethiopians got what I mean). We just cannot expect to get results when we don’t have a long-term manager who spends the season watching league games and scouting players. We can’t expect to do a miracle in a month or two. That’s not how football works. It is a process and things don’t just happen. Along with this, the Federation should also work on calling out Ethiopian born players who play in the different league across Europe. Should these players look good enough to play for the national team after a period of trial in training or friendly games, they should be given the opportunity to defend the colours of our country. Soccer Ethiopia has been introducing some new faces to the followers hoping that the Federation will notice and take action. We are still waiting.
– The Federation should find an official sponsor for the Premier League, in order to increase the brand and make sure that not only Ethiopians but also football fans across Africa keep a close eye on it. Instead of accusing regional TVs who are broadcasting games, the Federation should start cooperating with TV channels in order to broadcast matches. And the notion that fans won’t come to stadiums if games are on TV is downright unacceptable.
– And finally, the EFF’s goals shouldn’t be patching up the wounds for now. They should try to heal the wound that is infecting our football. The primary goal shouldn’t be qualifying for tournaments. While that is a good thing and no one hates aspirations it is important that the newly elected members focus their attention on building a wider scouting network, finding ways to integrate football with the school system, helping and funding academies etc… The focus shouldn’t be on what they will say they did in four years time. It should be what legacy they will leave for Ethiopian football. Are you planning on qualifying for AFCON/ World Cup or are you planning for the long term?
Only time will tell what the newly organized EFF will bring to Ethiopian Football. All we can do in the meantime is hope.
