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| The Olympics is a chance for African nations to build national pride and prestige. There is a need for greater strategic planning in athletics in order to remain competitive (Photo credit: MikeBlyth) |
Olympic Strategy and Citizenship (part one)
The
Olympics is the
biggest global sporting event that offers countries an opportunity to
show their
talents. It allows nations to brand or promote themselves through sports
in a way that expensive advertising cannot – It is what a sport
like basketball has done to raise the profile of the USA, or short
distance
running for Jamaica or long distance for Ethiopia and Kenya,
respectively. Winning a medal at an Olympic game is the root of envy
from other nations. It is a source of pride from the country's citizens.
National glory is important for the people of a nation. It is therefore
an arena where questions of
citizenship are important and can quickly become contentious. The
Olympic
Charter requires that an athlete is a national of the country they
compete for.
There are restrictions for athletes that change or switch citizenship
whereby
an athlete a losses citizenship from one country in order to gain
citizenship
of another country. There is a three year time frame that needs to pass
in
order for these athletes to compete for a different country. Exceptions
to this
rule can be made though by the Olympic governing bodies. Dual Citizens
though
have no such restrictions and can compete for either country where they
hold citizenship.
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| LONDON,
ENGLAND - JULY 27: Richard Banda is the First Gentleman of Malawi and
a former Olympic athlete for Malawi. He arrived in England for the
London 2012 Olympic Games to support the Malawi athletes (Image
credit: Getty Images via @daylife) |
Malawi is one African
country that doesn’t recognize Dual Citizenship. For a country like Malawi that
has
had Olympic athletes compete but no Olympic medals, lack of Dual
Citizenship laws means that Malawi is decreasing
its opportunity of becoming a medal bearing country. Athletes that have
two
Malawian parents but live outside of Malawi are prevented from competing
for
Malawi at the international level after the age of twenty-one. Football
(soccer) players like Tamika Mkandawire, who has one Malawian parent but
is a
British citizen, is not able to compete for Malawi even though he plays
for a
professional league in Europe. Although an athlete like Cate Campbell, a
Malawian-born Australian Olympic swimming medalist, does not have
Malawian
parents, she should have the option to compete for Malawi (Even if it is
under
a special category of Dual Citizenship for those without Malawian
parentage but
has an exceptional talent). There is little doubt that Campbell must
have used
some level of Malawian resources in the first nine years of her life
whilst
physically living in Malawi. Therefore it is in the best interest for
Malawi to leverage the use of those
resources for the benefit of Malawi. This includes human resources. Lack
of Dual Citizenship also means that
there is an increasing chance for up and coming Malawian players to be
poached
by other countries and thereby creating a situation where Malawi trains
athletes but their contribution to Malawi can not be maximized. We need
to consider that the ‘body'
drain is just as real and just as problematic as the ‘brain drain’ on
the continent. Malawian Athletes such as swimmers
Joyce Fafathata and Charlton Nyirenda or runners Mike Tebulo, and John
Kayange are
more inclined to switch citizenship in order to advance their careers.
Rather
than abandoning Malawian citizenship altogether, Dual Citizenship would
allow these
players to compete for Malawi when needed. Countries like Malawi need to
have an Olympic strategy that is beyond the physical aspects of the
game. The Olympic games are not just about competing harder, they are
about competing smarter.
Competitive Advantage and Citizenship (part two)
Taking advantage of
Dual Citizenship is important for African nations wanting to have a
competitive
advantage in athletic games. Being competitive at the Olympics in a
globalized world is just as much
about having an effective athletic management strategy as it is about
the athletic ability of the Olympians. For African countries, getting
medals is not just a matter of poor training facilities, or lack of
financial
resources.Its a matter of leveraging all available or potential human
resources. Part of an effective global strategy is is inclusive of all
of the nations people and thus increases the chance of a country to
bring home medals.
Therefore, citizenship matters. In the past few years alone, there has
been an increase in African athletes competing for non-African teams.
There has also been an increase in non-African nations coveting
successful African athletes. There are numerous examples of
African players that have changed their citizenship in order to compete
at the
Olympics i.e. South African born runner Zola Budd competed for England;
Kenyan born runner Bernard
Lagat competed for the USA; Kenyan born cyclist Chris Froome competed
for Great Britain. Many countries in Africa have realized that lack of
Dual Citizenship is costing them players and decreasing their
competitiveness. Many countries have now taken the important step
towards leveraging their athletes. Both Kenya and South Africa now offer
Dual Citizenship to their nationals. It
is in the best interest of these countries in Africa to offer Dual
Citizenship so that they can increase their competitiveness at
international
events through policies that encourage the retention of athletes.
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| LONDON,
ENGLAND - JULY 31: Tony Skinn #4 of Nigeria shoots in the Men's
Basketball Preliminary Round match between Lithuania and Nigeria in
London, England. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) |
Many countries strategically
provide citizenship to African athletes as an incentive for these
athletes to immigrate to their
country and compete for them in the Olympics. They offer the athletes
additional
attractions like training facilities or an opportunity to qualify for
the Olympics
in cases where they would not have qualified in their own countries. In
the USA alone, fifty athletes migrated to the
USA between 1992 and 2008 to compete for their Olympic team that
previously competed
for another country. At the London 2012 games, over 40 foreign-born
citizens ran for the United States. This 'body gain' increases the
chance for the USA to earn medals, money, national pride and prestige
that comes with winning Olympic events. For the African countries that
have lost a potential Olympic medal athlete, this is a tremendous loss.
Many African athletes
also strategically maintain the citizenship of their country-of-origin
or acquire citizenship of new nations so that they
can compete in the Olympics. Nigeria was able to send its first
qualifying Basketball
team to the Olympics 2012 due to the contributions of Nigerian Dual
Citizens in
the USA. Both Nigeria and USA recognize Dual Citizenship. As Dual
Citizens with both U.S.A
and Nigerian citizenship, these athletes are able to compete for Nigeria
or USA. However,
basketball is very competitive in the USA and there is a saturation of
qualified
players therefore it is more difficult to qualify in the USA team. Many
of these
players therefore opted to try out for the Nigerian Olympic basketball
team (D'Tigers) and
where able to qualify to compete alongside other Nigerians. A handful of
the players were from the NBA professional league, the remainder were
from college. Nigeria benefits by
having a Basketball team comprised of all of its best athletes and
qualifying
for the first time in this event. It also benefits by having athletes
compete
for them at little or no cost to Nigeria.
Although Nigeria's defeat by the USA's dream team was the focus of many,
Nigeria's ascendency to the Basketball arena was commendable. They
managed to establish Nigeria as
a Basketball powerhouse.They beat established teams like Lithuania,
Greece and the Dominican Republic to qualify for the Olympics. Even
though the team did not bring home medals for Nigeria, they won one
out of four games. They also lifted the profile of African Basketball.
The world hasn't seen the last of teams like D'Tigers that are made up
of all of Africa's human resources. Addressing issues of citizenship
for all their nationals as part of an athletic strategy is important.
Dual Citizenship is important for competing at the international level
and building a winning country brand. If African nations want to
increase the number of medals that they have, African nations need to
leverage their athletic human resources. This will create a situation
where both players and the country can benefit. It is a step in
countering the 'body drain' of our athletes. It will also create a
situation where more Olympic medals can be awarded on the African
continent ... and one where more happy Olympic memories can be created
for Africa.
This article originally appeared August 1, 2012 and August 11, 2012 on: www.rebrandafrica.org
