The crisis of declining university sport

Tisan spokesperson Matheus Tobias says university sport games have declined significantly due to the inactivity of the national mother body since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Responding to questions by The Namibian Sport, Tobias says the decline in sport at tertiary institutions has been compounded by the past Tertiary Institutes Sport Association of Namibia (Tisan) leadership instability.

“One of the major causes is the lack of sufficient financial support to Tisan,” he says, adding that many of the current students are either too busy or distracted.

“Attending games competes with study demands, work, online entertainment and social media. Another reason is that there is little hype and weak marketing. Students do not see the event as something to attend,” Tobias says.

On the lack of support from university management, he says: “The majority of our local university management often give less support because sport is treated as an extra curricular activity rather than a core part of institutional life.”

“When budgets are tight, leadership tends to prioritise academic operations, staffing and compliance over student sport, especially if sport is not seen as directly generating revenue.”

Tobias says there is a strategic problem where many institutions have short-term focus on sport and assume it will survive on tradition alone, leading them to underinvest in promotion, facilities and student engagement.

“Where support is weak, it usually shows up in poor funding, fragmented to no facilities, and little coordination between sport offices and senior management.

“University games thrive when management sees them as part of student belonging, campus identity and wellness, not just as weekend entertainment.”

As for the lack of infrastructure, he says only one local university in Namibia has suitable sport infrastructure.

“There is clear evidence of a sport infrastructure gap at local universities, although the situation is uneven and improving in some places.

“The biggest issue is not simply whether one university has a field or court, but whether universities have quality, accessible and competitive facilities for regular training and inter-varsity sport.

He adds that the push for the University of Namibia’s high-performance centre was described as a response to the country’s shortage of such facilities, especially for elite athlete development.

“That tells you the system has historically been underdeveloped and university sport has not always had the infrastructure needed to thrive.”

On the importance of Tisan for the growth of Namibian sport, Tobias says: “We talk about the importance of Tisan as an umbrella body under the National Sport Commission (NSC) mainly because it is the main platform that connects tertiary students to organised sport, competition and talent pathways.”

He says in recent years Tisan was labelled as a vital institution for nurturing students’ sporting dreams but due to its inactivity, it has deprived students of opportunities to develop their skills and compete internationally.

“In that sense, Tisan is not just an event organiser; it is a pathway of developing and feeding university athletes for our national teams.”

“Tisan’s importance goes beyond student recreation. It helps build a national pool of athletes who are already used to structured competition, discipline, and performance pressure, which is exactly what our country needs if they want to produce more elite athletes and Olympic level competitors,” Tobias states.

He says Tisan needs a serious revamp of its structure and vision if it wants to align with stronger Southern African Development Community university sport models and better promote games across Namibian tertiary institutions.

“We recently elected new executive committee members who already hit the ground running, working tooth and nail to ensure we bring Tisan back and ensure that it serves its purpose and to continuously feed talent to our national teams.”

He says the newly elected leadership recently worked on a strategic plan, which directly aligns with that of the NSC and international governing bodies.

“A revived Tisan would fit that broader reform agenda by giving tertiary sport a sharper mandate and more visible purpose.”

On the lack of local university competitions, Tobias says majority of the local universities host competitions but they often fail to continue because the necessary support systems have not been put in place.

He says the sport codes being prioritised include athletics, football, netball, basketball, volleyball, boxing, table tennis, tennis, hockey, chess, rugby, and rugby sevens.

The Tisan exco nembers are Bernado Evaristus as president, vice president Patrick Kacelo, treasurer Eron Kuzatjike, Tobias as spokesperson, codes coordinator Desiderius Sethie, development officer Gideon Shikulo, student representative Martina Johannes.

The post The crisis of declining university sport appeared first on The Namibian.