31 May - 6 June 2001
Issue No.536
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 31 May - 6 June 2001 Issue No.536 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Setbacks forgotten
Ahli and Zamalek reached the quarter-finals of African club competitions to put behind a frustrating week for Egyptian football. Abeer Anwar reports
The very powerful Ministry of Youth is apparently abusing its power these days. The ministry, which is the governing body of all Egyptian sports, is charged with committing two no-no's: interfering in the affairs of sports clubs and federations and, more seriously, rejecting verdicts when these clubs go to court.
A scenario is being repeated with disturbing regularity. A club or federation is dissolved by the ministry -- usually for reasons of corruption -- and a new board takes over. The board sues the ministry and wins the case but the ministry refuses to obey the ruling.
The most recent incident involved one of the more elite clubs in the capital, Shams. Its board of directors was accused of questionable financial dealings; the ministry duly dissolved and replaced it. The board members filed a suit and won. They were reinstated -- but just last month -- and only after new board elections were held. It had taken a year for the board members to return because the ministry refused to abide by the court's ruling. During that period, things had heated up so much that at one time police intervention was necessary.
Zohour, another of the country's classy clubs, found itself in an almost identical situation with all its subsequent ramifications.
It is fine and in fact the duty of the ministry to act on a case of misappropriation of funds. To turn a blind eye would make the ministry as guilty as the perpetrator. But it would not be unfair to conclude that the ministry has overstepped its bounds by wandering into affairs best left to others to resolve. These club and federation irregularities are, for one, internal matters that should be resolved by the parties concerned, not by the ministry or any other outside party. And if you want to go by the book, the only authority that has the right to dissolve the board of a federation or club is the general assembly of those institutions -- not the ministry. The general assembly has the right to withdraw its confidence of such boards if it deems corruption has occurred.
By the way, corruption in clubs and federations can be as commonplace as changing one's socks. If the ministry intends to investigate every single incident, it will be dissolving boards every other day instead of devoting more time to what it should be doing: trying to improve sports in the country.
When the ministry does intervene, if a court's decision is not to its liking, it should, nevertheless, respect the ruling, stand aside and let justice take its course. Respecting court decisions and allowing rulings to be implemented will maintain the ministry's credibility in the court of public opinion.
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