As the lights dim on what has been described by those who experienced it firsthand as one of the worst Olympics in terms of organisation, the question for the Cypriot state should not be what the Cypriot athletes did for their country, but what their country did for them.
Sports, unfortunately for the current government, politicians, and so-called officials, cannot be built with selfies, social media posts, and announcements. Sports require much more, starting with the right foundations and infrastructure, which the Cypriot state has seemingly refused to provide for decades.
Sports do not operate like football, where every year teams scour the lower divisions of the Iberian Peninsula, South America, Central Europe, and sometimes Africa for transfers that will bolster individual football clubs. This process creates a false sense of progress in Cypriot football, which is still unable to field 11 top-class players to form a national team!
Now that the Olympics have concluded, the State should invite those who participated in this and previous Olympic Games to sit down and listen to the athletes.
Our athletes do not need more events designed primarily for a politician or official to update their social media profiles. They do not need to be dragged once again to the Presidential Palace to listen to speeches from the President, the Minister, and whoever else takes the floor.
It would be wiser and more productive to invite Cyprus’s Olympians and reverse the roles. Let the politicians sit down and the athletes take the podium to speak. Let them talk about their sacrifices, how much (if at all) the State supported them, and, in the end, let them point out what needs to be done.
There was a time when Cypriot sports relied on the talent of a few athletes, and it was considered a success if even a small number managed to qualify for the Olympic Games.
After 1980, when Cyprus finally decided to participate with its own Olympic team (previously, some individual Cypriot athletes competed as part of the Greek team), there was satisfaction simply in participating because (as was the political mentality at the time) it was enough just to see our flag displayed.
However, a few years ago, a new generation of young athletes, led by Kontides and others, rejected that defeatist mentality of mere participation. They made it clear that Cyprus no longer goes to the Olympics just to be present; we go with ambitions.
And it was at this point that the State’s inadequacies became apparent—a State that had become accustomed to operating without proper infrastructure and without feeling the need to support its athletes. A State that thought or believes that by building a “sports school” in each district, it has fulfilled its duty and that everything will fall into place.
Even to reach the point where people talk about the sums some athletes will receive for their performances, it took other athletes raising their voices and showing the State that it cannot reap benefits from them without simultaneously being willing to support their efforts.
During the first week of my holidays, I had the opportunity to spend several hours watching the Paris Olympics on CyBC.
Cyprus is not lacking in sporting talent, unlike many other countries. What it lacks, compared to many other countries, is the proper infrastructure to further support sports.
However, money needs to be spent to build that infrastructure, and this seems to be a problem. Even this government (so far) has not shown a willingness to invest in sports.
It is content with a few selfies and some social media posts…
