deja vu?

HISTORY is always taken for granted. Sadly, even politicians do not appreciate the values we've learnt in the past.

About a decade ago the country hosted a youth invitational tournament which saw the likes of a much younger Theiry Henry and Nicholas Anelka showcasing their skills.

While they are household names today, both the French nationals played to an almost empty stadium during their short stint in the country.

Back to the present day, the Youth and Sports Ministry which seem to suffer from a short term memory loss, plans to pour RM17 million per edition for a Champions Youth Cup (CYC) to be held in conjuction of the country's 50th anniversary of independance. The figure could go as high as RM51 million!

Now the Sports Minister, Azalina Othman Said, insists that the 'investment' ought to be viewed on a larger scale in the tourism revenue per say as the tournament is slatted end of Aug.

Speaking of Visit Malaysia Year, the Tourism Ministry aknowledged the fact there are less tourists recorded in the first three months of this year compared to last year. But their excuse was the Johor floods. Not a very valid excuse since there's nothing in Johor to start of with.

Back to the CYC, guess Azalina and company failed to realise the trickling number of spectators which saw Henry in action. What makes them so sure the numbers will increase in watching youngsters play ball?

However, the bigger question is will the RM 17 million be justified? We're living in a country where even at the grassroots level are lacking in equipments. Schools do not have the means for proper courts or sporting gears but yet the government feels its ok to dump millions on an event which tickets have yet to be printed, let alone priced.

And when the reporters ask questions, they are told to zip it.

For The Sun's take and Malay Mail's take on the issue, read here http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=17353 and here http://www.mmail.com.my/Current_News/mm/Weekend/Sports/20070317110431/Article/7days_arch

Surprisingly the FA of Malaysia seems to keep mum over the issue. Wouldn't it be better for the RM17 million used for the domestic league, perhaps luring former stars like Gabrielle Bastituta or even Romario to grace our teams?

Point to ponder.

-The Man Who Sold The World-