From the various types of sport, the mass sport has played an indispensable role in creating healthy citizens with the absences of age grouped rather helpful to select talented and gifted children.
Addis Ababa was renowned as the ‘center of sport’ ten years ago. However, the city has lost its own previous status gradually. Currently, stakeholders have started working so as to restore the city’s previous status.
Addis Ababa City Administration Sports Commission Commissioner, Yonas Aregye, told The Ethiopian Herald that the sports sector should be led by specialized sport professionals. However, most of the authorities were not professionals.
Secondly, sports activities were focusing on competition rather than investing in children. Due to this reason, all sport does not yield the expected outcome. For example, the total population of Ethiopia is about 110 million. The federation needs to deploy professional coaches that could bring forth a strong national football club. It needs to work on building strong international professional footballers.
On the other hand, the city has started a grass root level projects through mass sport though it has been restricted to Bahir Dar, Dessie, Mekele, Wollega, and Jimma which located Amhara, Tigray and Oromia states respectively.
Meanwhile, among the four fundamental types of sport stated in Ethiopian sport policy; Mass sport is the leading followed by sports arenas, teenage groups, and competition.
70 percent of the country’s population is a productive citizen. Thus, art and sport play a significant role in creating job opportunities. Art and sport would help produce a well-mannered industrious citizen.
Currently, the city has an ample number of experienced sports professionals. This creates a huge potential for the development of sport in Ethiopia. The sports commission needs to render adequate training through capacity building.
As to the Commissioner, 70 percent of citizens are engaged through mass sport in developed countries. This enabled the countries to be distinguished top ten in the World Olympics.
On the other hand, the Commission has prepared a new guide that could enable different investors to actively participate in expanding sports arenas and embracing the children in the project, Yonas said.
Gebretsadikan Abay, President at Addis Ababa Box Federation, on his part, said that sport needs passion. Passionate professionals can create productive citizens.
On the other hand, people have a negative attitude towards box sort. However, many countries have benefited from the sector if managed effectively.
According to the President, box sport has its own unique feature from other characteristics of sport types. It is a competition of tactics of preventing and attacking the competitors within nine minutes of all three rounds. Due to these reasons, the game is momentum and concentrated.
As to him, depending solely on competition, lack of competition space and equipment are the problems that are hindering the development of the sector.
On the contrary, commitment, cooperative task, intelligence, and attitudinal change have a significant role in improving sport in general and box sport in particular.
Sosina Wogayehu, President of Addis Ababa Gymnastics Federation, mentioned lack of due focus to the sports sector as a serious problem in the past many years in Ethiopia.
Sosina explained that the absence of a clear platform that allows experts to join the sport and lack of adequate space is serious factors for gymnastic sport development.
Currently, Gymnastic Federation has taken training space in Janmeda, Addis Ababa. But, it does not mean that enough by itself rather it is appreciable action. It was not common during the past many years. However, it needs much space for training, she elaborated.
The Ethiopian Herald February 11/2020
BY MESERET BEHAILU
