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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter
SUCCESS comes with a lot of responsibilities and as such some fail to handle the fame that come with it hence they misuse funds secured during their heydays.
Many soccer stars have fallen victim to the problem. Some became destitute after hanging their boots because they had no savings. The problem will persist and haunt many for years to come as long as there is no proper financial guidance during the individuals’ playing days.
Career development and guidance must start from a young age so that as the youngsters grow up, they appreciate the importance of preparing for life after hanging their boots.
Player well-being does not only revolve around financial ability but also one’s health. As the saying goes, proper nutrition is the key to unlocking your body’s potential. As an athlete one must not only focus on their financials but also ensure they are in good health even after retiring from playing football or any other sport.
Former Bulawayo City and Bantu Rovers goalkeeper, Ndodana Sibanda is a man on a mission to help footballers manage their careers and enjoy on retirement.
Sibanda has come up with an initiative to “catch them young” by imparting knowledge on how players are supposed to handle themselves.
“The whole concept is that we want to teach these youngsters from grassroot level up to the premier league in terms of life skills, financial management and avoiding drug abuse,” said Sibanda.
He said he was engaging universities, the Sports and Recreation Commission, Zimbabwe Football Association (Zifa), Premier Soccer League (PSL), players’ union, clubs and schools with a view to come up with a course meant to assist athletes to prepare for life on retirement.
“For instance, we can break it down to say at primary school level we do an introduction on life skills up to a certain level and the same course is then repeated at secondary and university level,” said Sibanda.
He said it was unfortunate that managers of soccer players who do all their transfer negotiations involving handling and payment of money, do not bother to assist the players to save for the future.
Sibanda said he is also planning to engage savings and insurance companies like Old Mutual to assist players to manage their finances.
“The well-being of an athlete, as already stated, is not all about finances but diet is also important. The initiative will therefore, look at engaging dieticians to assist with the physical well-being of the athletes.
“It is of importance for sportspersons to know the diet required and to also desist from drug abuse which has seen many of them ending their careers prematurely,” said Sibanda.
He said many soccer players have played for big teams across the globe but some of them have nothing to show for it despite the fact that they were being paid huge amounts of money. — @brandon_malvin
Online Reporter