Management of sports

Management of sports

From Neraca

I do not agree with the Indonesian Consumer Institute's
approval for the gathering of funds for sport from the community,
even if the management of the acquired funds is transparent.

Sports need the support of the community because organizers of
sporting events cannot rely on the government for funds all the
time. But collection of funds by imposing compulsory
contributions at toll gates, or when making IDs and drivers'
licenses is no longer feasible. Besides, such forms of collection
should first be approved by the legislators in Jakarta and by the
councils in the regions.

Although transparency in the management of funds is intended,
it is tempting for a committee chairman or a sporting event
organizer to see billions of rupiah on his personal account while
nobody else knows the exact amount of the funds. So far the funds
collected for the 19th South East Asian Games have not been
accounted for.

If the government, through the Ministry of Youths and Sports,
initiates the program olahraga dan kemanusiaan (sports and
humanity), the plan should first be proposed to the House of
Representatives and consulted about seriously with the Indonesian
Ulema Council (MUI), the Indonesian Council of Churches (DGI) and
other religious councils and, surely, with the Consumer
Institute, because the program involves the public.

Actually sponsorship is the best way to raise sports funds. If
sports are organized commercially like a profitable business,
sponsors will certainly be interested. It is not advisable to
want too much too soon by organizing big national and
international events. Local events, if attractively packaged,
will attract the public and sponsors.

This is indeed no new idea. I would only like to remind the
parties concerned that entrepreneurship is essential in the
management of sports. Nowadays people are smarter and law
conscious; looking for contributions through stickers and the
like belongs definitely to the past.

R. BAKROEN

Jakarta