The report of the Beijing failure has come to light. Inas Mazhar wonders whether its recommendations mark the beginning of a new day for Egyptian sport It wasn't the first time Egyptian sport had seen upsets or disappointments. But Egypt's failure at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing was the worst of the failures. Egypt only managed to win one medal at the global tournament -- a single bronze by Hisham Mesbah in the judo competition. The failure caused huge disappointment among the public -- officials as well as media -- who threw accusations at the federations, National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Sports Council (NSC). The failure also reportedly disappointed President Hosni Mubarak. The president, himself a sportsman, immediately formed a committee headed by Mofied Shehab, minister of parliamentary affairs, to investigate two questions. First, why did Egypt fail? And second, who was to blame? "We have done our job. Now it's up to the Council of Ministers to follow up the implementation of the report's findings," Shehab told reporters at a press conference held at the Peoples' Assembly in Cairo. "Sports are a fundamental factor in a nation's development. Participating at the Olympic Games is also evidence of how much a nation has progressed in its sports. While winning five Olympic medals in 2004 thrilled Egyptians, one medal shocked Egyptians four years later in Beijing 2008. The political leadership sensed the danger and felt the disappointment. Accordingly, instructions came from the president to form this committee," Shehab said. It took the six- man investigation committee a month and a half of questioning and discussion to issue its 186-page report. The committee was divided into three sub- committees: one technical, the other administrative and a third financial. They each summoned and questioned top sports officials including NSC President Hassan Sakr, NOC Preisdent Mounir Sabet, Head of the Egyptian delegation at the Beijing Games Mohamed Shahine, as well as the presidents of several sports federations. All those mentioned also submitted their own reports. Subsequently, the committee held 16 meetings over 45 days to finalise the report, submitted to the prime minister before going public. To the surprise of many, especially among the public and the media, the report did not overly accuse any particular figure or body. Nobody is made to hold responsibility, and nobody is made to shoulder the blame alone. Still the report investigated the core reasons behind the failure, and issued the necessary recommendations. According to the committee, Egypt failed in Beijing because the national sports federations lack all of a clear sports management strategy, professional expertise, scientists, managers and researchers, plans for creating Olympic champions, the necessary scientific studies and the strategy required to identify and nurture new talent, long- term technical plans, and speculative studies. The report also found that Egypt has for many years adopted a mistaken approach towards participation in the Olympics. Egypt has traditionally participated in every sport the country qualified for by winning the continental qualifications, which according to the committee do not reveal the real level performance of the competing athletes. Once at the Olympic Games, the Egyptians are then stunned by higher standards of performance from their competitors. In such sports, Egyptians are no match to their opponents, neither technically nor financially. The committee also found that ever since Egypt claimed five Olympic medals in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, there was no planning during the four-year period leading up to the 2008 games. Egypt has indeed suffered throughout the past four years from unstable management. Key to the instability was 18- month pause in the Olympic Champion project. This caused the deterioration in the level of performance of the selected champions. Meanwhile poor budget management was another key factor in the overall failure. Some federations received more money than they needed, while others received too little. Speaking at the press conference Shehab announced that during the past four years, the federations which took part in the Olympics spent an overall LE282 million. Of this amount, LE119 million were spent in the last year before the Olympics. The Egyptian delegation to the Olympics cost LE1.5 million pounds. LE855,000 was spent before the trip and LE580,000 was allocated to expenses, allowances, pocket money and security for the duration of the games. According to Shehab, this money was all handled under the supervision and surveillance of the official authorities. Investigations found out that there was no sign of any mishandling of public funds, in answer to accusations made against the federations for spending all this cash with no achievements in return. So it seems that the committee has given us a convincing answer to the question of why Egypt failed in Beijing But for some observers, it has failed to answer the second core question, namely, whom do we blame? As far as the minister and his committee are concerned the answer they gave -- namely that no one should shoulder the blame alone -- has irritated many observers. However, it stands to reason that everyone is responsible in one way or another. The lack of calibre, expertise, management and other key factors pointed out in the first section of the report basically means that the faults are systemic. Further, it would be hypocritical to suggest that it took the committee's work for us to come to terms with reality in Egypt -- because this is not the first time national sport has failed. In fact, the reasons for failure we see today are the very same causes of disappointment every time. Further, it is not the first committee to be formed by the president to look into the failure of Egyptian sports at the Olympics Games. This has happened several times before. And every time, the committee has detected the reasons and those responsible as well. Still, months later, everything will no doubt be forgotten and we will return back to the start line once more. But for the first time a committee has come up with some solutions to absorb the disappointment of the public, to show them there is still hope in a better future with the implementation of some of these recommendations. According to Shehab the recommendations are meant to help Egypt avoid all the factors leading to disappointment for future events. They include: a reconsideration of budget distribution, determining from now the sports and number of athletes scheduled to take part in the 2012 Olympic Games in London according to objective criteria, developing and renovating the Olympic training centre facilities in Maadi district, restructuring the Olympic Champion project and allocating it a proper budget, and finally marketing the promising champions and federations by attracting individual sponsors from among businessmen and large companies. Along with these recommendations, Shehab revealed the government is currently working on a new sports law to replace the current, 30-year-old law. The new law will be submitted to parliament in the New Year for discussion and approval. Once it is passed, it will no doubt make a difference. "The new law is meant to put an end to any obstacles hindering the tasks of the NSC, NOC, clubs sports federations and authorities," Shehab said. Meanwhile Shehab added: "We are also looking to create a clean and stable atmosphere among the sports bodies. Therefore, it is necessary to create a mechanism or a committee within the NOC to serve as a court, to unfold any disputes that emerge on the field before they reach the civil courts." Shehab concluded the conference by labelling the report as a document for reformation, not for conviction. The minister rightly believes that during crisis it is all too easy to make accusations and convict people, with the guaranteed result of cooling public rage. But this is more a tactic to absorb anger than a strategy to actually solve a very real problem. What the committee is vying for is essentially a systemic solution for a set of systemic problems. This approach may take a longer time before the fruits are borne; then again its chances of success by far outweigh those of a short-term policy. So it seems the New Year will be ushering in a new law and with it new hopes. We hope the approval and implementation of the law will not be too long, simply because there are so many challenges ahead as it is. Indeed, this plan of reform is desperately needed if Egyptian sport is to make a change for the better. Some federations are already looking ahead to major international competitions in which Egypt has to defend its reputation and titles. Football is one of the sports in which we will have a busy year. The national team faces two challenges: the Confederations Cup in South Africa in June, and the final stage of the World Cup qualifications. The youth team will be preparing for the under-20s FIFA World Cup, which will be held in Egypt next September. Meanwhile three teams are taking part in continental championships. Ahli will be looking forward to making history by winning a seventh African Champions League title while Misri and Ismaili will be fighting for glory at the CAF Confederations Cup. Zamalek, the second football powerhouse of the country, will also be working on renewing the team and maybe a revolution within the club so they can restore some of the glory of the days when they used to hit the top spot. The club no doubt needs a new board if the team is to be saved from doom. And by the beginning of the year 2009 all Egyptian sports federations will have had their elections and new boards will be ready to start a new policy. This year's federation and club elections were held according to a new sports regulation, which banned all those who have served for more than two terms -- totalling eight years -- from participating. The aim of the NSC was to give chances to other volunteers to serve sports instead of those who have been glued to their seats for decades without showing any improvement. According to the NSC president Sakr, "new blood with new ideas" is needed if we are to make an honest attempt to develop national sport. In addition, according to the new regulation, the number of board members has also dropped from 12 to six members including the president. The vice president's chair was removed in the new regulation. Of course that new regulation has been subject of a long dispute between some federations and certain sport figures on the one hand, and the NSC president on the other. Those opposing the new regulation, who have been ruling their federations for years on end, have gone so far by even complaining to the International Olympic Committee of government interference. The complaints, which were sent before the Olympic Games were held, were a risk because Egypt was to be suspended by the IOC, had the NSC president not travelled and explained the situation. And those who complained were only trying to protect their seats. It is not the money they're after, because they are voluntary positions after all, but it's the fame and power they cherish. Be that as it may, January will probably see the elections of the NOC board and it may well be that they will put an end to this dispute. All in all, let's look forward to the launch of the reform process, and let's hope 2009 will be a better year for Egyptian sports and sportsmen.
