7 - 13 March 2002
Issue No.576
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 7 - 13 March 2002 Issue No.576 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Half-time
Minister means business
Minister of Youth Alieddin Hilal recently announced that a committee of top football experts, officials and media men has been set up to look into the problems of Egyptian football. The decision comes in the wake of Egypt's knockout from the quarter-finals of the African Nations Cup and its inability to reach this summer's World Cup.
Where have we seen such committees before? Because Egypt's football failings have been numerous and the setbacks plenty, there have been plenty, appearing and disappearing for decades. And the knee-jerk reaction to every soccer foul-up has always been the same: set up a body of esteemed thinkers, then throw their esteemed decisions out of the window. What the panels would like to see changed is rarely taken seriously for fear that:
A - the changes will be too difficult to implement;
B - take too much time;
C - cost too much money;
D - are deemed by the know-it-alls of the sport not to be the correct solutions.
Failure to comply also usually has something to do with a little of all the above.
However, this particular committee might be special after all in that it will not only look into the problems, not only will it supposedly find ways to solve them -- but all this will be accomplished in only two months -- or else. This apparently is not an idle threat. Hilal appears serious for there is a proviso appended to his words, written in capital letters: Should you be unable to come up with solutions during the time allotted, it is bye-bye, not only to the committee but to the entire football association.
Such an ultimatum has never before been issued. But what concerns us is that, whereas solutions to Egyptian football can be found in two months -- maybe even two minutes -- the real test is implementation which, even if carried out, could and probably would take years.
One thing the committee will not have to deal with is Egypt's new coach; the man who will replace Mahmoud El-Gohari. The names have been whittled down by the association to three, all foreigners.
We have said repeatedly, and shouted from the top of our lungs, that a change of coach, even if he is from outside the borders, does not necessarily mean that anything will change. Egypt's football woes run much deeper and go much further.
But if it must be a foreigner, let us think before we hire. A foreign coach with a worldwide reputation is out of the question because of the huge salary involved. The second alternative is to settle for second best; coaches who will accept less money but are, indeed, less in calibre. Whatever the choice, beware: while foreigners can make a difference, they can also make a mess.
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