FROM THE SIDELINE

FORMER Botswana Football Association president Ismail Bhamjee has brought shame to the entire African football community after being involved in a World Cup ticket sale scandal.

Bhamjee, of most people should have known better, but his greediness and short-sightedness has now costed his career as a top football official, while his reputation will be nothing but zero. Who knows.Maybe he has been doing this throughout his career since he joined Fifa some years ago.And he says he was doing it (selling tickets) for the people, What ? He said and I quote: “I was at all times during the sale process under the impression that I was assisting and helping some unfortunate fans who were desperate to see their country play at the World Cup.”This man is shameless.One would ask if he would be paying the money from sales to Fifa or the Botswana FA or who ? Obviously not.It was meant for his pocket.Bhamjee sold 12 tickets to fans at three times their face value.He sold a ticket for 300 euros (about N$2 700) for the England vs Trinidad and Tabago match on June 15.The disgraced official gets paid a daily allowance of US$500 (about N$3 500) per day for official Fifa duties while at the World Cup.Apart from that, his yearly earnings from Fifa as a member of the board stands at a whopping US$100 000 (about N$700 000) and that excludes his duties as match commissioner in various tournaments on the continent and abroad which is estimated to be about US$40 000 per match.(about N$200 000).Fifa should make an example of Bhamjee and vote him out of the executive committee as he is a corrupt official.Instead of advancing the cause of the game at that stage, he takes advantage of the poor fans by selling them tickets at such an astronomical price.This just for his own gain.These are some of the reasons why southern African football never progress in terms of competitiveness, especially against other African nations.The administrators, from most of the football associations in southern Africa up to the level of Cosafa, are greedy and this is evident in the poor financial status of many mother bodies in this part of the world.This is no wonder why the Confederation of African Football (CAF) does not take southern African football seriously.Although CAF officials are also highly suspect of corrupt practices, the officials in southern Africa are just thinking of how much money they can make for themselves.This is a trend that has kept the progress of the game hostage in most of the southern African countries.The leagues in most southern African countries are struggling financially, because the associations are poorly administered and thus do not add value to the game.With the exception of Angola and South Africa who played at the World Cup from southern Africa, other countries will take a long time to reach that stage provided that there is a change of attitude from the top football officials.The change of attitude should be to assist clubs build up strong financial bases that can ultimately lead to stronger national teams.Football officials should concentrate on developing the game.The future of most of the youngsters who are currently idolising these big international football stars lies in the hands of these officials.But with corrupt officials like Bhamjee, there will be no bright future for southern African football.There is so much money in football and no wonder the ones who are in charge now are holding tight onto their seats.They simply don’t want to give way because of various reasons.For some, leaving the game will cost them their daily bread, while some fear the exposure of the rot they have left behind.In the case of Bhamjee, he found out the hard way that being corrupt, which is an irreversible illness, can be fatal.He always wanted more and this costed him his career.Local football officials should learn from this experience.It is however not uncommon here too.Who knows.Maybe he has been doing this throughout his career since he joined Fifa some years ago.And he says he was doing it (selling tickets) for the people, What ? He said and I quote: “I was at all times during the sale process under the impression that I was assisting and helping some unfortunate fans who were desperate to see their country play at the World Cup.”This man is shameless.One would ask if he would be paying the money from sales to Fifa or the Botswana FA or who ? Obviously not.It was meant for his pocket.Bhamjee sold 12 tickets to fans at three times their face value.He sold a ticket for 300 euros (about N$2 700) for the England vs Trinidad and Tabago match on June 15.The disgraced official gets paid a daily allowance of US$500 (about N$3 500) per day for official Fifa duties while at the World Cup.Apart from that, his yearly earnings from Fifa as a member of the board stands at a whopping US$100 000 (about N$700 000) and that excludes his duties as match commissioner in various tournaments on the continent and abroad which is estimated to be about US$40 000 per match.(about N$200 000).Fifa should make an example of Bhamjee and vote him out of the executive committee as he is a corrupt official.Instead of advancing the cause of the game at that stage, he takes advantage of the poor fans by selling them tickets at such an astronomical price.This just for his own gain.These are some of the reasons why southern African football never progress in terms of competitiveness, especially against other African nations.The administrators, from most of the football associations in southern Africa up to the level of Cosafa, are greedy and this is evident in the poor financial status of many mother bodies in this part of the world.This is no wonder why the Confederation of African Football (CAF) does not take southern African football seriously.Although CAF officials are also highly suspect of corrupt practices, the officials in southern Africa are just thinking of how much money they can make for themselves.This is a trend that has kept the progress of the game hostage in most of the southern African countries.The leagues in most southern African countries are struggling financially, because the associations are poorly administered and thus do not add value to the game.With the exception of Angola and South Africa who played at the World Cup from southern Africa, other countries will take a long time to reach that stage provided that there is a change of attitude from the top football officials.The change of attitude should be to assist clubs build up strong financial bases that can ultimately lead to stronger national teams.Football officials should concentrate on developing the game.The future of most of the youngsters who are currently idolising these big international football stars lies in the hands of these officials.But with corrupt officials like Bhamjee, there will be no bright future for southern African football.There is so much money in football and no wonder the ones who are in charge now are holding tight onto their seats.They simply don’t want to give way because of various reasons.For some, leaving the game will cost them their daily bread, while some fear the exposure of the rot they have left behind.In the case of Bhamjee, he found out the hard way that being corrupt, which is an irreversible illness, can be fatal.He always wanted more and this costed him his career.Local football officials should learn from this experience.It is however not uncommon here too.