Twice defending Ethiopian Premier League champions Kidus Giorgis handed a relatively unknown side KMKM of Zanzibar in its preliminary qualification round. But it is the continent’s giant Al-Ahly waiting at the first round fixtures. International fixtures debutant Baherdar Ketema is paired with East African string side Azam FC of Tanzania.
Being among the very few sides of the continent that took part in more than twelve CAF Champions League fixtures, Giorgis could easily go past KMKM. But facing the 11 time Champions League title holder Al-Ahly in the first round qualification is a completely different story.
Some star players including top striker Ouro-Agoro, striker Shimeles Gugsa and Amanuel G/ Kidan parted ways, Coach Zarihun Shengeta might face a huge challenge of building a strong squad. Considering the time constraint it is hard to expect something new from the club for the first leg home match is 18-20 August.
In Confederation Cup preliminary round qualification matches, newcomer Baherdar faces Azam FC. Both the club and Coach Degarege Yigzaw are new to international fixtures and a huge effort is expected to burst out of the squad in order to get past the Tanzanian Premier League former champions that also finished third this season.
Degarege’s early move to sign star players the likes of Ferew Solomon and Cherenet Gugsa shows that “The Blue Waves” are in a huge build-up of their squad. But not yet having enough time to mix the team and hard to be sure of having a home venue, Baherdar could face a difficult time in its first ever international fixture. The first leg home clash takes place August 18-20 with the return leg a week later.
Giorgis face KMKM while Baherdar hosts Azam in CAF Cups preliminary round
Netball World Cup 2023: Male coaches ‘biggest challenge’ to African netballers – Malawi’s Waya
Malawi legend Mary Waya believes the behaviour of some male coaches in African netball remains the “biggest challenge” for female players.
Former World Cup star Waya said women are pressured into relationships in the hope of securing selection.
The 55-year-old claimed female players are made to feel “insecure” by coaches.
“Most African teams have male coaches, so that’s the biggest challenge,” Waya told the Africa Daily podcast, saying the issue has endured since she was a teenage player.
“You will find that when you go to the competition, to the changing rooms, you feel insecure because of these male coaches.”
The Queens achieved their best ever finish at the World Cup, finishing fifth in New Zealand in 2007.
But Waya believes different gender dynamics between male and female coaches and players can cause problems.
“If they are female coaches, you feel safe because you have got a ‘mother’ near you,” she added. “You know ‘I’m protected’.
“With male coaches, we always look at them as our ‘fathers’ and then they easily tell us, ‘I’m not your father – if you want to go to the national team, you have to be my [girlfriend], so that you can be at the top of the team’.”
Waya, who has been part of the sport for 25 years and acted as a commentator at the 2023 World Cup in South Africa, watched Malawi impress at the tournament as the sixth-best team in the world secured wins over Scotland, Barbados, Fiji and Tonga during the preliminary stages.
Despite her concerns around male coaches, the flag bearer for her country at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi said netball remains hugely beneficial to players.
“It gives us mental and physical health,” she said. “It shows us that we can be empowered and do things with our own mind and strength.”
World Cup a ‘catalyst’ for equality
Nocawe Mafu, South Africa’s deputy minister of sports, arts and culture, said leaders had been “over the moon” at hosting the World Cup, but called for greater equality.
“The main target was about motivating young women, girls and children, and making sure that it actually helps to promote women’s sport in the country and Africa in general,” she said of the tournament.
“Women in sport, in general, are doing well but they are not recognised at the same level as men. In most cases, they are doing much better than men because they have to prove themselves to the world.
“It’s not supposed to be like that, but that’s the way it is. And therefore governments and federations cannot be faulted much in terms of concentrating on men who are not putting their best foot forward, compared to women. The world is still patriarchal in nature.”
More than 112,000 tickets were sold for the 2019 finals in England, with the number of people attending matches and watching or following the tournament surpassing six million, according to an impact evaluation carried out by UK Sport and Sheffield Hallam University.
Mafu said netball is played by 90% of women and young girls in South Africa and hopes the Cape Town edition will also prove inspiring.
“It becomes important that events you are hosting, like the World Cup, become a catalyst for making sure that the world recognises women are actually equal to men,” she said.
Iyasu Habtamu
Name: Iyasu Habtamu
Education: Marketing Management
Company name: Archangel Advertising
Title: Founder
Founded in: 2022
What it do: Social Media Advertising
Hq: Addis Ababa
Number of Employees: 4
Startup capital: 50,000 birr
Current Capital:200,000 birr
Reason for starting the Business: The increase in the number of social media users
Biggest perk of ownership: Working hard
Biggest strength: Hard worker
Biggest challenge: Limited access to cash for financial growth
Plan: To build the best advertising company in Ethiopia
First career: Wood work
Most interested in meeting: Elon Musk
Most admired person: Michael Mesfin
Stress reducer: Spending time with family and friends
Favorite past time: Going to church
Favorite book: The art of war
Favorite destination: Barcelona, Spain
Favorite automobile: Range Rover
The (In) formal organization
Formally, many things we deal with in our daily life, are organized and regulated. We are formally employed or have registered our business. Working hours are set and we have a job description. Traffic is also regulated; there are traffic rules, and we need to get a driving license that proves we are capable of safely driving a vehicle through traffic. We know what is expected of us and we know what to do. Or so it seems.
Indeed, we all know the traffic rules but the way we behave in traffic here is a different story altogether. We honk to anybody in our way, meaning: get out of my way! We prefer to drive on the left side of the road; we therefor overtake on the right side; we speed; we don’t give way; we don’t stop at pedestrian crossings; we try and jump the red traffic light; we park where there is a “No Parking” sign; we try and repair our car in the middle of the road; name it. The formal rules simply don’t seem to apply. An informal set of traffic rules have emerged instead, and it seems most drivers know the informal rules better than the formal rules. Follow the formal rules and other drivers will throw a strange glance at you, meaning: “This is not the way we do things here!”
The same applies to organizations. Formally, things are regulated, and rules are followed. Informally though, things may be done differently. It is important to be aware of the reality of the informal organization within the formal organization and managers do well to identify the informal realities of the organization and even make use of it. Let us look at the formal and informal organization a bit closer.
A formal organization is the literal structure of the organization including its organization chart, hierarchical reporting relationships and work processes. The informal organization is the informal working relationships that develop in organizations and contribute strongly to the work culture. An organizational chart effectively outlines the structure of the formal organization. It shows the hierarchy from the CEO and top management to mid-level management to front-line employees. It also shows the horizontal interrelationships of various functional divisions or departments. The organizational chart provides a functional framework and is important in the workplace to establish stability, clarity in working relationships and reporting relationships between superiors and subordinates. Though top management often does not consider the reality of the informal organization when trying to establish culture, it does have a significant influence on workplace dynamics. Employees interact with each other at lunch, in the break room and in daily interactions in passing. These encounters either positively or negatively impact each employee’s sense of belonging within the workplace. If these encounters are generally negative, work morale is typically poor. Understanding the direct reporting relationships outlined in the organizational chart is often less important than knowing the influential people in your company. For ambitious employees, this may mean looking beyond immediate coworkers and managers and finding helpful mentors and internal coaches that want to help them succeed. Information communication networks are also a useful means of learning how the company works beyond just what is conveyed from top management.
Also, when front-line employees get promoted into management positions, they often forget the importance of balancing the formal structure and informal networks within organizations. Disciplined structure and clear reporting relationships are important. However, managers also have a lot to gain by remembering that informal networks are real and useful. Managers can often get the most insight on how employees feel and how departmental teams are functioning through informal, friendly conversations. While formal relationships are key to accomplishing organizational and departmental objectives, they are sometimes restrictive to open interactions.
Ton Haverkort
References:
“Bloomberg Businessweek” article “Navigating the ‘Informal’ Organization,” Marshall Goldsmith and Jon Katzenbach
What Is the Difference Between an Informal & Formal Organization?
by Neil Kokemuller, Demand Media
