Putting aside the major issues, main complaints from members revolve around a piece of turf

Sports Minister Abdulla Rafiu spent nearly an hour in parliament yesterday to answer questions from members of parliament. The minister was summoned to parliament because work on the turf field on one of the islands has not yet started. The members' questions started and ended with questions about turf.

There are many problems in the country's sports sector. However, none of the members asked questions about matters concerning the broader sports sector. They did not inquire about reforming a system that has become a mess. The two associations in the country have come to a standstill, and athletes and clubs have reached a point where they are literally on the streets. None of these issues were raised by the members. It has always been a complaint that this or that island in the constituency does not have a turf ground.

Parliamentarians' concerns about sports issues have been so low that, as sports management veteran Hussain Mohamed described, it is like "members sitting content with a rubber turf and a goal." He said, "In the last administration, the minister also made members content with six balls. This is the level of our politicians."

In a post on social media after an interview with Mihaaru, Hussain said members can play an important role in decentralizing the sports system predominantly based in Male'. "Is the vision that MPs see on youth and sports-related issues in their constituency limited to a rubber turf and a goal net?" he wrote.

Hussain, who holds a Masters in sports governance, urged the current parliament, which was sworn in in May, to have a broader understanding of sports issues. "Take a little administrative matter- Introduce a legal solution that can change the national sports system to a more decentralized system than the one that has now been centralized to Male' City. Believe me! That's when the difference will start to show. Quick and positive changes will begin then. The youth will be happy. A lot of people will be. Then they will make their own tweets."

Ali Azim, a former parliamentarian from the Central Henveiru constituency, said, "Setting aside national issues and targeting questions related to members' constituencies is unconstitutional. Irrespective of which constituency an elected member may be, the primary concern of the member should be the issues at the national level." Azim noted, "I can see that members tend to think very narrowly. They don't see any place other than their constituency. It would be accurate to say that there is no member who sees the country as a whole."

Azim, who has played football in the past and later ran a club and became the president of FAM, said it is a shame that there is no member who could talk about sports issues now. ‘I have to say that there is not a single person now in Parliament who can talk about sports in the country. If there is, we will talk about sports across the country. They look very narrowly on every issue. The elected members of parliament should think about what is best for the entire country. But what is to be seen now is that they only talk about what's only good for their constituency’.

Expressing concern over the dilution of parliament's role in reforming the sport sector, a former sports official said, "All these problems are happening because we are trying to find a political solution to sports issues. The sport has to find a sport-oriented solution."

"That doesn't mean an MP can go there as he wants and put a football pitch wherever he wants. That's the political solution. Depending on how we want to develop football, we will build the ground that we need for football in the island where we need it the most. The court that is most needed for handball will be put up in a place where it is needed. But all these days, it has been, and we kept settling for a political solution. A political solution won't bring a solution to the problems in sports sector. "

He added that associations alone cannot be blamed. "The system of running sports in the country is too flawed. Parliament has a bigger role to play in rectifying this."

In parliament, minister Rafiu made one of the statements yesterday that football will continue to be the most popular sport in the country. He did not elaborate on how it will be done, neither did the parliamentarians ask how it will be done.

Former Henveiru West MP and former Sports Minister Hassan Latheef said, "There are many problems in sports in the country. Without highlighting these concerns, raising issues related to an equipment in the outdoor gym in the constituency will not bring a solution to the problems in the sports sector.

He said "Even when we were in Parliament, on the day the sports minister would come in, most members would question a dysfunctional equipment in the outdoor gym. Only two or three members would ask about major and broader issues in the country's sport," Hassan said.

He pointed out that looking at the current situation in the country's football association reveals serious problems. "It's about the most popular sport in the country. If you look at those football issues alone, you can see that there are serious problems with sports in the country. In addition, it is a question how we will take sports sector from amateur to semi-professional and to professionalism. Just sending a team to a tournament doesn't help the sport grow. There are many issues in the sports sector. But without bringing up any of these issues, it seems that MPs ask questions that will promote themselves in their constituency."

Experts say parliament has a major role to play in reforming the sport in the country. However, parliament cannot play that role by only asking for a rubber turf and an outdoor gym for their constituency.