Africa's admin crisis

By Farayi Mungazi

Palmgren first knew of his dismissal when he read it on this website

I have long argued the point and I will not waver in my belief that Africa's obsession with football is killing other sports on the continent.

This is due to the fact that football claims the lion's share of commercial sponsorship and enjoys unrivalled coverage in the print and electronic media.

But in years to come, I am sure anyone who consults a dictionary looking for words like 'shambles', 'incompetent' and 'inept' will find the entry, 'see African football' next to them.

It still amazes me how many people refuse to acknowledge the fact that African football has been run by inexcusably incompetent officials for far too long.

Take Rwanda, for instance. They put out word that Roger Palmgren had been sacked as coach and replaced by Gilbert Kanyankore for the upcoming Cecafa Challenge Cup.

Success comes not on the back of talented players alone, but also on the ability of administrators to run the game properly

But within hours of the story of his dismissal going on this website, it came to light that Palmgren knew nothing about it and was furious with the BBC for publishing an 'untrue story'.

"Roger Palmgren is sacked as national coach," Jules Kalisa, a Ferwafa official, told BBC Sport from the capital, Kigali.

"The federation want to write to him to tell him he is not national coach but we have not done it yet," he insisted.

Heaven knows why Rwanda's football authorities saw it proper to appoint a new coach without first telling Palmgren to get on his bike.

While the skills of players like Desire Mbonabucya and Jimmy Kalisa are a great advertisement for Rwanda football, the Palmgren episode undermines the players' good work.

Success comes not on the back of talented players alone, but also on the ability of administrators to run the game properly.

But Rwanda's case is by no means unique because this kind of abdication of responsibility is a very common occurrence.

Many coaches all across the continent are often sacked via the media and people have come to accept it as normal. I say it is not.

This reminds me of the words of the legendary American boxing trainer and promoter Lou Duva, who said: "You can sum up this sport in two words: You never know."

Okay, Duva's comments secured him instant life-membership of the 'Dumb Quotes Group' but I think it also sums up African football.

Although the principal thrust of administrators is to improve the conditions for the promotion of football in their respective countries, you never know what to expect from them, do you?

It is not the sport or the players, coaches, referees and fans that I have a problem with. On the contrary, football and its participants show remarkable resilience in the face of chronic mismanagement from the men who populate the game's corridors of power.

While players put their bodies on the line for club and country, the administrators seem to be doing their utmost to make sure that African football remains a global pantomime.

This is why - although they will not say it publicly - many football associations in Europe take the cartoon characters, Tom and Jerry, far more seriously than some of their African counterparts.

The time has come for the deadwood in football boardrooms across Africa to be purged.

I am not expecting the officials entrenched in their posts to start shaking in their boots. I just live in hope.

There are people in Africa today who would make great football administrators but they must be given a chance.

For that to happen, the present crop of administrators should resign en-masse. Africa does not need a repeat of the Rwanda fiasco.