By Brima Bah
I have been struggling to aptly translate the Krio expression “Game Na Biskit” into acceptable English. But I’m still struggling not just with the translation but also with grasping the rationale behind the saying which has become both a common saying and a comfort zone for especially losers in a game or a match.
Perhaps the saying and notion is simply in the Sierra Leonean psyche only. It means, as I have heard some experienced people explain, that “in a game of sport there must always be a winner and a loser”.
Although that sounds right and universally acceptable most Sierra Leoneans take it a step further to proffer the expression as an explanation for defeat as or as a consolation for under performance.
Every time we lose in a contest we simply accept the result, move on, look forward to the next game, and hope for better luck the next time. This has become a very worrisome national attitude in sport. It is obvious, to a professional sportsman/woman, at least, that you cannot just win or lose. To win, you must have a true understanding of the game you play, acquire the requisite skills and discipline from qualified and competent trainers, through consistent training and practice. In other words you must aspire to get better and better.
For anytime we lose, we must be able to point out our tactical lapses and identify the strength of our opponents, so that with hard work we can improve and better our performance in future. We do not lose because there has to be a winner or a looser. We lose because we are either not good enough or our opponents are simply superior to or better prepared than us. Once in a while there could be bad days. But when good days hardly ever come, we are left to wonder. To win, the right things must be done.
Although the sports sector has been politically vibrant, and the majority of youth passionately love sports, especially football, there has not been much to write home about when it comes to the country’s international showings, or should I say absenteeism. We have missed out on nine African Cup of Nations football tournaments – over sixteen years!
As for the representation of the other disciplines in major competitions, such as the ultimate Olympic Games, it is best not to go down that road. We have always been forced to go back to the drawing board and hope for better luck.
But winning does not come by luck. It comes through sheer hard work: knowing and being on top of your game! A lot of monies and energy have been injected into the development of especially Leone Stars, but nobody has paid serious attention to the recurring dismal performance of the national football team. The questions of facilities for all the disciplines, adequate professional training and discipline have been relegated way down the priority list which has at its top “More Money” which largely ends up in the briefcases of corrupt and incompetent officials who are in the business of sports purely for the fat diem, travel opportunities, and the various international federations’ funds which go largely unaccounted for.
With the countless number of workshops, training and conferences attended by officials of the various sporting disciplines, the athletes remain deprived even of basic training facilities. We have vibrant indoor sports associations, but we don’t have indoor facilities for those disciplines. Officials are always part of their parent international bodies’ congresses, but their athletes can hardly make the qualifying marks for their games! Game Na Biskits?
How can our athletes make the minimum qualifying marks? How can Leone Stars return to the African Cup of Nations when the country’s Premier League starts and stops like a misfiring outdated automobile? Divisions 1 & 2 football, if ever played, passes almost unnoticed. As for Non Division football, it is completely uncoordinated. Local Community Amateur Associations are left on their own. These Community Associations manage to do their best, which in my mind, in most cases does more harm than good to the game, especially for the young talent left at the mercy of grassroots coaches who have little or no training in dealing with the young personality of youth. They enthusiastically try to bring up young players, but in their zest they end up damaging quite a few boys who should be in school! Most of these boys simply drop out of school, and take to antisocial behaviours, clearly lacking in the department of discipline.
The most important aspect in preparing to win is to give the young the right training and discipline. That is why of the current crop of Sierra Leonean footballers plying their trade at the highest level well over 70% were brought up by the late Papa Montella Jack of the Sierra Rangers fame. Our hope for the future of football lies with the projects of the Craig Bellamy Foundation, Kallon FC Juniors and other structured teams with intensive and professional focus on youth development.
To get on to winning ways, somebody, some institutions somewhere must take full responsibility to give the necessary attention sport deserves. To become a sporting nation that believes in winning, and not making excuses for always losing out, we, as a country, must engage in a capital project of developing sports through education, and the communities. The young and upcoming generation must be taught that the game is no “Biskit”, it is a hard nut that must be cracked with sheer toughness!
Brima Bah is a Sports Commentator and Analyst
